Finn Mertins' story
by anamaria33
Summary: Finn is all alone with only his crown as company after the bomb turned the world into a giant wasteland. But through his misery, he finds a human girl named Ignis. His feelings for her are strong, but so is his duty to fulfill the crown's promise of an era of ice. Finn must choose between his dear companion and the crown that saved him. But will he be the one to make the choice?
1. Chapter 1

Finn Mertins' story

Finn wandered the ruins of the land, his mind lost in a blizzard of ice and snow. He looked to the cold and dark sky, which released inches upon inches of snow. How beautiful, he thought. Each is unique in their likeness. And each makes their own path. How beautiful. How perfect. This works is full of imperfections. And I alone must fix them. I am the end and the beginning. I... I!...

He suddenly thought of his family. Man, he thought, I really donked things up. Mom, Dad, Barbar, Susan... I'm so sorry.

"Why would you be sorry?" his crown asked. "Now that one world has ended, we can begin the next! We can change this chemical wasteland into a frozen utopia!"

Finn spoke aloud. "No... No! This is all your fault! You're the cause of this! You caused this mess!"

"Come now, Mertins! There are so many secrets to be discovered! I can reveal those secrets to you. I can give you power beyond your imagination!"

"No! No!"

The voice grew louder and louder with every sentence.

"The time of ice is now! This world must be cleansed! YOU MUST BE CLEANSED! WE MUST RISE AND CLAIM WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Finn grabbed the crown and threw it into the snow. The whispers grew calmer, but they never fully disappeared. They continued to chant as if they were singing a song.

"The power of frost... The power of frost... The power of frost..." 

Part 2

Many months passed. All the old houses and buildings are now completely submerged in snow. Finn now lives in an igloo he formed to protect himself. Although the crown was taking his mind, his body was still human and needed shelter and warmth.

The crown took good care of its new master. It showed him where to find suitable food and would have him create suitable snow that he could later drink.

However, Finn could feel the changes happen. His skin grew colder and bluer as time passed, and his long blonde locks became as white as the snow. Every day he felt his control over his own body become less and less. He was scared. What could he do? There was no one left to help him. And how could he betray the very thing that is keeping him alive?

He sat in an ice chair, slumped over, looking down at his feet.

"Just think of all we can accomplish together, Mertins," the crown whispered. "The children of ice and snow must be brought to life to enjoy our frozen world! Oh, they will be beautiful! And perfect! They must be perfect!... "

The crown continued as Finn thought back to simpler times. Times when he could sit and play his flute with Jake by his side.

Jake. The poor fool. He was corrupted by the bomb. The result of the imperfection of humanity. He had to be slain. Finn had no choice. The poor fool...

Suddenly there was a noise. Finn listened intently, and then he heard the sound again.

He rushed outside to find a figure kneeling on the ground.

"Kill... KILL..."

"No," Finn whispered.

"KILL... KILL..."

Finn felt the crown take control as his powers began to glow in his hands. His eyes began to glow a bright blue as he prepared to strike.

The figure turned around to face Finn just as he was poised to strike. His eyes became normal as he gained control again. He lowered his arm.

It... It's a girl... 

Part 3

"Whoa," Finn said.

What the junk? I can't believe it. An actual person!

She was beautiful. She had sun kissed skin and auburn hair. She wore a black coat over a torn red dress.

Wow, he thought. She's so booming.

"What are you doing?" the crown asked. "Why don't you defend?!"

Shut up! Finn thought. He offered his hand to the girl.

"Are you alright?"

The girl stared at his hand for a moment, and then stared into his face.

"It's ok!" Finn said. "I won't hurt you."

He took a step forward. As he did, the girl reached into her coat and pulled out a rifle.

"Stay back!" she screamed. "Stay back or I'll shoot!"

"Mertins!" the crown screamed.

"Whoa!" Finn exclaimed. "Take it easy! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Just stay back! I got rid of the other ones and I'll get rid of you too!"

Other ones? Finn thought.

... The monsters!

The chemicals of the bomb must've created more monsters like Jake!

Does she... Does she think I'm a monster?

"Hang on! I'm not like the others! I'm not a monster!"

"Why should I believe you?" she yelled. "How do I know this isn't a trick?" She raised her rifle, ready to fire.

She doesn't believe me!

"Mertins! Kill her!" the crown screamed.

Finn shook his head to shake the voice away, but it stayed.

"GAAAAAH!" He threw his crown on the ground. All the while the girl stared in confusion.

Finn shook his head. "If I were like the others," he said to her, "wouldn't I have attacked already?"

The girl thought about this.

He does seem different, she thought. Those monsters before... they never stopped coming. This guy... he hasn't struck me once.

She lowered her gun.

"You can live for now. But if you try anything, I won't hold back."

Finn smiled. "My name is Finn. And you are?"

The girl placed the rifle back in her coat. "Ignis. My name is Ignis." 

Part 4

Finn smiled at the girl. Ignis, he thought. What a strange name.

"What were you doing out here?" he asked.

"Searching for food," she replied. "I haven't been able to find any since everything got covered in snow."

"Hahaha! My bad!" the crown chuckled.

Finn scowled at the crown's remark.

Poor Ignis. It doesn't seem like she has anywhere to go. Maybe... Maybe I should let her stay for a while. At least until she's got plenty of food in her stomach.

"Oh no!" the crown argued. "No no no no no! I don't like this girl. I sense something wrong with her. Just leave her be, Mertins."

Finn ignored the crown and asked, "Ignis, would you like to stay with us- I mean, me, for a while?"

She stared at him. "Really? You're going to let me stay in your house. Right after I threaten to kill you. Really?"

"Sure," Finn said, shrugging his shoulders. "No biggie."

Ignis laughed. "Man, if you're stupid enough to let an armed person into your home you really aren't like the others."

"Actually," he said, "I am armed. See!" He wiggled his arm in front of him.

"Oh jeez," the crown said.

Ignis laughed, holding her sides.

"Hahaha! You know what? You're alright, Finn. Ok. I'll stay for a while."

"Great!" he said.

"I don't like this, Mertins!" the crown exclaimed.

Finn sighed and picked up the crown. He led Ignis into his igloo.

As they entered, Finn placed the crown on an ice table by the entrance.

"Make yourself at home!" Finn said.

Everything was made of ice. The tables, the sofa, and even the little pictures on the wall were ice. Everything sparkled and gleamed so beautifully.

"Wow!" Ignis said. She gaped at the detail in everything. "You made all this? It's amazing!"

"Hmmmm," the crown said. "She has good taste."

Finn went to the kitchen and got her some apples and blueberries. He put them in an ice bowl and brought them back to Ignis, who was shivering on the sofa.

"Here you go," he said as he gave her the food. "Sorry, it's kind of cold."

"I-It's f-f-fine," she said through chattering teeth.

Finn was about to sit down when a thought crossed his mind.

Crop! I don't have a room for her to sleep in! I never thought I'd ever have company...

Finn went to the table by the entrance and grabbed his crown.

"I'll be right back," he said as he went outside.

"Why are you wasting your time on her?" the crown asked. "What could make her so important?"

"She's a living person," Finn said. "A person in need of help. I failed my family. I made the bomb go off. I created this cold world. I need to make up for the things I've done." He put the crown on his head and smiled. "Besides, I-"

"You what?"

Finn's smile went away. "Nothing."

He raised his arms and shot the ice out of his hands, creating the base of what would be Ignis room on the side of the house.

"Oh no," the crown said. "You like her don't you?"

Finn ignored the crown and continued to create Ignis' room.

"You poor fool," the crown laughed. "Do you really think she'll ever want you once she knows that you're the cause of this splendid era of ice? She'll leave faster than you can say you're sorry."

"Shut up!" Finn yelled.

"Finn?"

Finn turned around to see Ignis standing there.

"Ignis!"

"Finn?" she asked. "How were you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Your hands... They were shooting out ice. Care to explain to me what's going on?"

Finn closed his eyes and sighed. "It's a long story."

Ignis leaned against the entrance to the igloo. "I've got time," she said.

Finn took off his crown and went inside, with Ignis following behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Part 1

Finn and Ignis took a seat on the ice sofa. Finn removed his crown and placed it by his side before lifting his head to look at Ignis. She was waiting patiently with her arms crossed.

Well, he thought, I might as well start explaining this mess.

"Ok," he began. "So, here's the thing. Before everything got all messed up, I used to live with my family on a little farm. I had a mom, a dad, and my baby sister, Susan. We were all fine until this mean bunch of donks called the Destiny Gang wanted my dad to pay up for something. My mom said I had to take our mule Bartrum to the Destiny Gang to pay them, but then Bartrum got herself stuck in a tree. Me and my dog, Jake, went after her, but then we fell down a ditch. When we looked around, we saw some dead guy with a crown on his head. I thought that maybe I could sell the crown to pay the Destiny Gang instead of selling them Bartrum. As I was about to grab it, some crazy lady jumped out and said not to take it. This crazy lady said it was magic. She said that it would give whoever wore the crown the power over ice and snow, but I didn't believe her at first. She said not to take it, but I didn't listen. I tried to sell it, but the Destiny Gang took the crown and Bartrum. Then the Destiny Gang started messing things up, setting things on fire, and they went after my family. They set our house on fire while my family was still in there. I thought if I put on the crown, then I could save my family. But…"

Should I tell her the truth? Should I tell her that I made this place like this? What if she does hate me, like the crown said? Man, what do I do?

"The sooner you tell her, Mertens, the sooner she can leave!" the crown said. Finn pushed the crown behind him.

But I don't want her to leave, he thought. I finally have an actual person to talk to. I don't want to be alone again! I can't risk losing her.

He took in a deep breath. "But, I didn't remember anything after I put out the fire. The next thing I knew, everything was gone and destroyed. I haven't seen my family since."

"Wow," Ignis said. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Finn."

Finn blushed when he felt her hand on his shoulder. "But it's ok," he continued. "This crown... it's helped me out a lot during these last few months. It tells me where to find food and water and junk."

Ignis frowned. "Wait. You can... talk to it?"

Finn's face became a shade redder. "Well, kind of. It only talks to me. Only I can hear it..."

Aw man, he thought. I sound totes crazy right now!

Ignis furrowed her brow in confusion.

"But I'm not crazy!" Finn assured her. "I swear I'm not! You can totes trust me on that!"

Her expression still looked unsettled. Finn sighed and hung his head. "I get it if you don't believe me. It's fine."

"No, it's not that," she said. "I believe you. I mean, if there are those monsters out there, I guess there can be living objects too. It's just difficult for me to wrap my head around it."

Finn lifted his head and looked at her. "You know, now that you mentioned it, I was wondering. What happened to you? And how did you get away from the monsters?"

Part 2

Ignis looked down at her lap. She played with her hands before answering.

"Well," she began, "before all of this happened, I lived with my mom and dad in a small house away from everyone else's farms. My dad worked in the market selling candles while my mom stayed and took care of me. Life was really easy back then. Then the bomb went off. I remember my dad had just come back from the market. He was all dirty and his clothes were torn. Before I could ask him what was wrong, it happened. The sky just turned completely dark, and I saw this big cloud of scary green faces rise from the ground. I just stood there staring at it. Then my mom came running out from the house and screamed. The cloud was getting closer to us very fast. My dad picked me up and ran with me over his shoulder while my mom ran by his side. My dad put me down and started to take the chains off the cellar. I thought we were all going to go in there and hide. Once he got it open, he rushed me and my mom inside. The cloud was seconds away. And my dad…" her voice broke at the mention of her father. "My dad told us to take care of each other. He said that we should never separate, and that he loved us very much. I screamed at him to get inside, but my dad closed the doors on us. That was the last time I ever saw him."

Finn couldn't believe it. She's already been through so much, he thought. What have I done?

"Then," she continued, "my mom and I waited some time until the noises and screams went away. Before going out, my mom gave me this." She reached the collar of her coat and pulled out a necklace. It had a red jewel hanging from the chain. "She said it's been in our family for generations. She said I should have it since I was her only daughter."

Finn frowned. He felt so sorry for her. And he felt so guilty.

"There was a bunch of stuff in the cellar, including some food and stuff to drink. And I saw my dad's old rifle on the floor. I didn't want to leave the cellar. I was so scared of what was outside. My mom, though, was hopeful that my dad was still outside, and she wanted to go find him. My mom grabbed my dad's old rifle, opened the cellar doors, and stepped outside.

"It was horrible. Everything was dark and cold. Our house was gone, and so was the marketplace and everything else that used to be there. Nothing but destroyed and ruined buildings left. Then there was a bunch of green goop everywhere, and the sky was covered in dark grey clouds. My mom had me stay behind her as we walked out. We didn't know what was going to happen. And then…"

Ignis caught a lump in her throat. Finn placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to keep going if you don't want to," he said.

Ignis shook her head. "No it's ok," she said in a small voice. She took in a deep breath before continuing. "Then we saw my dad. He was… in the green goop, and he wasn't moving. My mom screamed and ran to him. I helped her pull him out of the goop and then she checked his pulse. I already knew he was dead. But I didn't want to believe it.

"Then he twitched. My mom squealed and started talking to him, telling him to wake up, that we were fine and that he'd be fine. Then he twitched again, but it didn't look right. His limbs were bending the wrong way. Then he opened his eyes and they were glowing green a bright green. The same green as the goop that was all around us. My mom was terrified. Then my dad lunged at my mom and she screamed. I knew that whatever that thing was, it wasn't my dad. My dad would never hurt my mom. Still… nothing could prepare me for what was next.

"He got even bigger, and his skin began to tear on his arms and face, showing his bones underneath. And he had this evil laugh, like a cackling crow. He was so scary! My mom put the rifle down and continued to talk to him as if it was still Dad. Then… it grabbed her from the waist with one hand." Tears began to stream down her face without end. Her voice broke as she continued. "And then… and then he lifted her up to his skeleton face. She looked at me as he opened his big white jaw. And she called out to me. "Ignis!" she said. The last thing she said was my name. And then… AND THEN HE ATE HER!" She sobbed uncontrollably, allowing the tears to fall freely down her face. Finn didn't know what to do. He tentatively put his arm around her, but then Ignis buried her face in his chest. Finn placed his good arm around her, comforting her as she sobbed.

"There was so much blood!" she cried. "And then he came after me! I grabbed the rifle and ran into the cellar and locked myself in. I was so scared! I could hear him banging his skeleton fists on the door, and I knew it wouldn't long before he broke the door. I checked the rifle and it only had a few bullets left, so I started putting tons of bullets in the rifle. A lot of them fell to the ground since I never learned to use my dad's rifle, but I still filled it up just as that _thing_ got in. I just started shooting. And I kept shooting and shooting and shooting! I shot him with all of my bullets, straight in the head. He fell backwards with a big thud. I thought he was dead, but then he started twitching again. I was so angry! So I used the rifle to smash his skull in. And I hit him again and again and again! I hit him until his head was nothing but a bunch of tiny white pieces, almost like eggshells. And that was it…"

She had stopped crying, but her face was stained with tears. She wiped her face on the back of her coat sleeves, sniffling as she did so.

"I'm… so sorry," Finn said.

"It's alright," Ignis said between sniffles. "It's not like it was your fault."

"Oh Mertens," the crown said after a long period of silence, "but it is your fault."

The crown was right. It was his fault. And Finn knew this deep in his heart. With one simple action, he had caused Ignis so much pain and suffering. He never thought this would happen.

Actually, he thought, I didn't think at all! I can't think straight with that crown on my head! It compelled me to use the power of ice! I just wanted to save my family… I don't even know if I even accomplished that.

"It's because of my parents that I'm alive," Ignis whispered. "I have them to thank for my life. But I can't thank them enough. Nothing I could ever do could be enough to thank them." She frowned. "They don't even have a proper resting place."

Finn suddenly got an idea. "Then we'll give them one."

Ignis looked at him incredulously. "What? How are we going to do that? It's still dangerous out there. The monsters are still out there! We could get killed!"

"Don't worry," Finn said to her. "This time, when a monster goes after you, you won't be alone."

Ignis smiled. "Thank you, Finn."

Finn smiled back. "No problem." The wind outside gave a loud roar and it could be felt hitting the side of the house. "I think maybe I should go back out and finish your room."

"You don't have to," she said. "It sounds like it's getting pretty bad out there. I can just sleep here."

"I think I'll be ok." He smiled. "I've got power over ice, remember?" He grabbed his crown from behind him and started heading for the door. Then he stopped and headed to his room. "Just a sec," he said as he passed Ignis. His crown took good care of him, so he had plenty of warm blankets in his room. He went through the blankets he had and searched for the warmest one.

"Your feelings for her will be your downfall," the crown said.

"Ah, it speaks!" Finn said. "You didn't say anything when we were talking. I thought maybe you had forgotten how to talk."

The crown sighed. "I suggest you get rid of her. I sense something wrong with her."

Finn scoffed. "Yeah, right. I'm not listening to your crazy talk." Finn selected a big, fuzzy blue blanket and brought it to Ignis. "Here you go," he said to her.

"Thank you," she said as she took the blanket. She quickly wrapped it around herself and sighed. "Man, I really needed this." She snuggled up in her blanket as she leaned back against the sofa.

Finn smiled. "I'll be back soon." He placed the crown on his head as he headed out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Part 1

Finn was exhausted from the night before, and had only slept a couple of hours, but he was still feeling content when he woke up. He had finished Ignis' room last night, but she hasn't seen it yet. He was very excited and he was hoping that she would like it. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at his feet, as he imagined how Ignis would react when she saw her room.

He'd playfully cover her eyes as they walked into her room.

"Come on, Finn, let me see!" she'd say.

"Ah ah ah!" Finn would reply. "No peeking!"

He would guide her to the center of the room, and then he would tell her to open her eyes.

"Ok. And… open your eyes!"

She would open her eyes and gasp as she looked around at her new room. Her eyes would light up and she would have a big smile on her face. "Oh, Finn!" she would say. "It's wonderful!" Then she would run up to him and wrap her arms around his neck. Finn would wrap his arms around her as he spun her around. Their faces would be inches apart from each other.

"Thank you so much, Finn," she would say. "I'm so happy."

"Anything for you, milady," he would respond.

Then he would lean in closer, holding her tighter, and—

"Yeah right!" the crown laughed, interrupting Finn's fantasy. "Like that'll ever happen!"

The crown was on the small table next to Finn's bed and the door. Finn's room was circular, with nothing else but a small wooden dresser with clothes and a triangular window directly across from the door.

Finn sighed angrily. "It could!" he grumbled. He got up and looked out the window..

"Oh please," the crown scoffed. "She barely knows you and she was prepared to shoot you when you first met her. I swear, Mertens, sometimes I can't believe the things you think about. There's some perfectly good snow-covered land out there. Why don't you build a nice castle and start your own kingdom. You know, like we planned?"

Finn frowned. "That was more your plan. If I had things my way, everything would be back to normal, and I wouldn't have to deal with you. You're the reason why no one else survived!"

"Careful, now, Mertens," the crown warned. "_I_ am the reason _you_ survived at all. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but _you_ put me on your head. I didn't force you to do that. _You_ wanted to use my power to save your family. And it was because of _your_ use of my power that the bomb went off. Don't you dare try to blame this predicament on me."

Finn sighed. The crown was right. And he hated that the crown spoke the truth. "Fine, I'm sorry."

"Good," the crown said. "Now then, go get it over with. Show her the room you made. I hope she appreciates it. You weren't the only one that had to stay up to make it."

"You don't want to come?"

"Not in the slightest. I still don't like that girl. I sense—"

"You sense something is wrong with her. Yeah, I know. You've said it, like, a bajillion times."

Before the crown could say his witty retort, Finn left the room and headed to the living room, where Ignis still lay asleep.

She looks so peaceful, he thought as he looked at her. She was all bundled up in the fetal position with Finn's blanket still wrapped around her. Man, he thought, she's so beautiful.

Wait, he thought. I can't just stand here looking at her. If she wakes up, it'll look totes creepy! Wake her up, dude. Just wake her up!

He tentatively placed his left hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Ignis," he whispered. She didn't respond, so he shook her with slightly more force. "Ignis, wake up!"

Ignis slowly opened her eyes. Not realizing where she was, her eyes widened as she quickly grabbed her rifle from her coat and pointed it straight at Finn's face, poised to fire her weapon.

"Whoa!" Finn said as he jumped back. "Take it easy! It's just me, Finn. You're ok, Ignis! You're ok!"

Ignis suddenly realized where she was, and her face softened as she put her rifle down on the ice sofa. "Oh my Glob," she said. "I'm so sorry Finn."

"It's fine," Finn said. "Just remind me not to get on your bad side."

Ignis smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'm still getting used to living with someone."

Finn smiled before noticing something about the ice sofa. The spot where Ignis was sleeping had molded to her body shape. The ice was melted.

How did the ice melt? It's freezing in here, he thought.

"Um..." he began, "Did you... do you see that?"

Ignis looked to see the melted ice sofa, and she gasped. "Whoa," she said. "How did that happen?"

Finn couldn't understand how the ice sofa could have melted. And then the crowns words echoed in his head.

_"I sense something wrong with her, Mertens."_

No! No no no no no! There's is nothing wrong with her. Just don't question it, he thought.

Finn shook his head to clear it before saying, "It's alright. I'll fix it. And besides, you won't have to sleep there anymore. I finished your room."

"Oh, cool! Can I see it?"

"Sure!" Finn wanted to cover her eyes like in his fantasy, but he realized it was much harder to do it in person. He felt so nervous all of a sudden, and his hand shook slightly.

"Are you ok?" Ignis asked, looking at his hand.

Finn blushed. "Yeah, I'm fine! Just a… a little cold is all!"

Ignis smiled and took his hand in hers. Finn turned a shade redder as he felt his face become hot. Her hand is so soft and warm, he thought.

"So, would you please show me to my room, sir?" she said in a warm tone.

"S-s-sure!" Finn said as he led her to her room. "R-right this way."

Finn led her to an open door just across from his room. The door was simply an open triangle shape in the wall, much like the one in his room. He led Ignis into the room as he said, "Tada!"

The room was the same structure as Finn's room. It was circular and had a triangle window across from the door. The bed next to the door was made of ice, but on top of it were some of Finn's warmest blankets. There was a small table next to the bed with an ice vase and some ice flowers inside it. There was a small dresser next to the window, and on the ceiling were some carved images of flowers growing on vines.

Ignis couldn't believe it. This is so awesome, she thought. I can't believe he stayed up all night to make this for me. I feel a little guilty that he spent his night that way. I can see the bags under his eyes. Still, I'm very happy with how the room turned out. It's so cool.

"Thank you so much, Finn," she said. "It looks amazing."

"Thanks," he said. "I'm glad you like it."

They both realized they were still holding hands and they pulled away, both of them blushing slightly.

Ignis noticed something shimmering on the dresser and went to examine it. She picked up a small three dimensional, diamond-shaped piece of ice. "Finn, what's this?" she asked.

Finn walked over to stand next to her. "It's a jewelry case," he said. "It's for your necklace. That way you have a safe place to keep it."

Ignis looked down at her necklace, then at the present Finn had left her. She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "It's very thoughtful of you."

Finn felt a warmth inside him. Yes! Finn thought. She likes it!

Ignis' stomach growled. "Sounds like I'm hungry," she chuckled.

"Well, come on," Finn said. "Let's go see what's in the kitchen."

Part 2

They both left the room and headed into the kitchen, which was right next to the living room. It was small, and it had a few shelves on top for drinks and such. There was a counter with cabinets for food. Finn opened all the cabinets, but he realized there wasn't much food left for him or Ignis.

'Uh-oh," he said. "Looks like we need more food."

"Where are we going to find food?" Ignis asked. "Everything's covered in snow.

"Don't worry. I know a few places that still have food left." He headed towards his room. "Just let me get my crown and ten we'll go."

"Alright," Ignis said as she took out her rifle.

She wasn't very thrilled about going back outside. She still couldn't forget the monsters she had encountered throughout these last few months. She was scared. And she hated that she was scared. She needed to be strong like her father. He would always take the harder path in life, but he always came through. She needed to be like her dad. She had to suck up her feelings and be fearless. Only now, she's not doing it just for herself anymore.

Finn entered his room and spotted his crown on the table where he had left it.

"Hey," he said. "I need your help. We're out of food. I need you to show me how to get to that spot we went to last time."

"Alright, Mertens," the crown said. "Let's go then."

Finn picked up the crown and was nearly out of his room when the crown asked, "Wait. Is she coming with us?"

"Oh, come on!" Finn exclaimed. "What's your deal? There's nothing wrong with her!"

"You don't see what I see. You're love for her is blinding you."

"You're crazy," Finn muttered.

"I'm not the one who somehow melted the sofa out there!"

Finn paused. "How did you...?"

The crown sighed. "Mertens, even when I am not on your head, I am still connected to you. We have a psychic connection. Anything you think, I hear."

Wow, Finn thought. I didn't know that...

"Perhaps something happened to her after the 'incident' with her parents..."

Finn frowned. "No! She's fine! Nothing happened to her! Nothing is wrong with her!"

"Oh yeah? Well then, Mertens, ask her. Ask her what happened to her after her incident with that monster she talked about."

"Aw, man, no way! I can't ask her that! That's a sensitive topic to talk about. I don't think she'll like it very much if I start quizzing her about all that jazz. I know I wouldn't."

"And do you know why you wouldn't like it if she asked you? Because you know you are hiding the truth from her. Perhaps she is hiding something from us. Something important."

Finn pondered this. Could she be hiding something? What could it be? Should I ask her?

"Fine," the crown said. "How about this? I won't show you where there is food if you don't ask her."

"What? Oh, come on! How do you know if she's hiding anything at all!"

"I just know."

Glob it! She is hungry.

"Going once!"

But man, I don't want to upset her.

"Going twice!"

But we need food!

"Alright, fine!' Finn said in defeat. "I'll ask her what happened after."

"Ah, wonderful!" Finn carried the crown with him as he headed towards the living room. "Isn't it great when you and I can work things out, Mertens?"

Finn saw his green backpack underneath the bed and picked it up, placing the crown inside so that it was sticking out a little bit.

"Jerk," Finn muttered under his breath.

He walked up to Ignis, who was checking her gun for ammo.

"You ready to go?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Ignis said, forcing a convincing smile.

"Alright, let's go."

Part 3

Finn and Ignis were trudging through the snow up a hill not too far from the igloo. Finn was walking in front of Ignis as his crown told him which direction to go.

"Now, Mertens," the crown said, "as soon as you come up this hill, you should reach a frozen lake on the other side. You'll have to cross it to reach a small cave. That's where you'll find some food."

Good, Finn thought. The sooner we get home, the better.

"And remember our deal Mertens," the crown warned.

Crop. I don't want to! I don't think she'll like it…

Finn took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "So Ignis," he began. "I was wondering, um, if you don't mind me asking, um… what happened to you after your parents, um… you know…"

Ugh, he thought. I didn't want to ask her! Stupid crown…

"Oh, um…" Ignis was caught off guard. She didn't think he'd ask about her past again. Or at least she hoped he wouldn't. She sighed before she began.

"Well… after I got rid of that _thing_, I gathered as much as I could from the cellar. I grabbed cans of food, bottles of water, and some ammo. Those were my essentials. I grabbed a small satchel that was in the cellar to put the food and water. Then I put the ammo in my coat, along with my rifle when I didn't have it out. Once I got everything I needed, I left. I left everything I ever knew for good.

"I wandered the land for a while. Any time I found a small place to hide, I would stay there to rest. Sometimes I woke up to a monster trying to attack me. But I always slept with my rifle in my hands, fully loaded, so I would simply begin to shoot. That's how my life was for the months after the bomb went off. But, eventually, I started running low on food and water. I started rationing how much I ate each day, but I knew that soon I would have to go out and search for food. So that's what I did. I left what little food I had in a small crevice in the ground, and then I went to search for food. I walked for hours searching for food. After a while, I started noticing that the number of pools of green goop that surrounded me grew larger. I was feeling really edgy. I felt it in my gut that something was going to happen. Something bad."

Should I tell him? She thought. What will he think? Will he send me away? Glob, I hope not. Alright, here it goes.

"And I was right," she continued. "There was a big skeleton monster that popped out of the green goop, covered in slime. It only had one eyeball in its socket while the other socket was empty, and its skin was decaying in patches. I raised my gun to fire, but it took a swipe at me, sweeping my feet off the ground and making me fall flat on my back. I tried to get up as quickly as I could, but the monster grabbed me by the legs and started pulling me into the goop. As it grabbed me, its sharp skeleton finger clawed at me leg, leaving a scar." She turned around to show Finn a long run in her tights, showing a nasty looking scar underneath, her skin red and singed. "It hurt like hell. And I let go of my rifle when I fell, so it was just inches away. I tried to reach for it, but the stupid monster kept pulling me away. Then I felt a stinging sensation from my ankles to my feet. I looked back to see that the monster was pulling me into the green goop! I tried to get away, but the monster was strong, and he pulled me in completely.

"I was in pain everywhere. My whole body felt like it was engulfed in flames. I could see the monsters face in front of me, laughing as it opened its mouth to eat me." She paused for a moment before she continued. "I thought about it for a minute. I thought about letting the monster eat me. Then I'd see my mom and dad again. We'd be a family again.

"But my dad wouldn't want that. He'd want me to be brave and strong and fight back. He wouldn't want me to back down. So here's what I did. I let the monster put me in his mouth. But instead of being eaten, I held on to a chunk of rotting gums that was hanging loose from his teeth. Then, as he went back up to the surface, I kicked his teeth out from the inside and jumped out of his mouth onto the ground.

"I landed on the ground front first, and I landed hard. I threw my hands out in front of me to break my fall. Then I looked back and saw the monster catch sight of me, and it let out a loud roar.

"I got up quickly and grabbed my rifle from the ground. As I turned around, I saw the monsters fist coming at me. I waited, and as soon as his fist was close enough, I jumped up high. His attack missed and I landed on top of his fist. Then I climbed up his arm while he was trying to grab me with his other hand. I reached his head and climbed on top of it. He couldn't see me, so I took my rifle and pointed it directly in his eye socket. I shot him multiple times, and his eyeball burst out in chunks of red. He screamed, but I didn't stop there. I went inside his other eye socket and started breaking his skull from the inside. He kept shaking his head to try to get me to stop, but I kept going. I eventually broke his skull completely, and he fell back into the goop. I had to swim out of his skull to the surface, and then I just lay in the snow. My skin was burning again, so I covered my skin in snow. I stayed like that for a while..."

She trailed off. She looked down at her feet. Finn stared past her, thinking about what she had just said.

Whoa, mama, he thought. I can't believe she took down so many monsters. But... that green goop she fell in... If it changed Jake into that scary monster... what did it do to her?

"Perhaps this explains the melted sofa," the crown suggested.

But what exactly did the goop do to her?

Finn moved towards Ignis. "Do you... do you feel... alright?"

Ignis looked up at Finn. "If you mean to ask if the goop did anything to me, the most that has changed is that my skin still burns slightly," she said.

Finn moved closer to her. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to comfort her and protect her. He wanted to hold her and say 'Everything's going to be ok'.

"Ignis..."

"Finn..." she said. "We should keep going." She walked past him down to the foot of the hill. Finn followed, still worried for Ignis.

At the bottom of the hill, there was a frozen lake. Across the lake was a small cave with icicles hanging from the roof of the entrance.

"What does your crown say?" Ignis asked.

"We have to cross the lake to get to that cave over there," he said.

"Alright." Ignis took a cautious step onto the ice to test it. The ice was stable. She took another step towards the cave. "Let's go."

"Ignis," Finn said. "Be careful-"

"Don't worry Finn. I got it." She smiled.

Finn got an idea to lighten the mood. "Hey Ignis!" he called out. "Check this out!" He took a few steps back before running onto the ice. He slid on the ice and was headed in Ignis' direction.

"Hahaha! Cool!" she said. She reached out and grabbed Finn by his arms, and they spun around in a circle. They each laughed and giggled as they began to slow down to a stop. They each smiled at each other as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I'm so happy to be here with you," Finn said.

Ignis blushed slightly. "So am I."

"It's nice to finally have someone to talk to," Finn continued. "Someone I can just hang out with."

"Yeah," Ignis said. "Someone to be my friend."

Someone to live for, Finn thought to himself.

"Mertens," the crown said. "I hate to interrupt your little 'moment', but look at what your standing on."

"Yeah, it's a lake," he said. "Don't worry though, it's stable. No bigggie."

"What is it?" Ignis asked.

"The crown's saying some stuff about the lake," Finn said casually.

"Oh," Ignis said simply. She was still getting used to the idea of the crown being alive.

"Mertens, you idiot!" the crown yelled. "Really look at the lake! Look at what color it is!"

Finn looked again, and he felt his stomach sink.

The lake was green…

It was that green goop.

Finn looked up at Ignis, terrified. "Ignis, we need to get to the cave now."

"Why? What's wrong? Finn?"

"Look at the lake! It's—"

As he looked down at the lake again, he stopped. He could see a skeleton face coming towards him in the lake. It's eye sockets glowed green, and it was coming towards the surface fast.

Finn took Ignis by the arm and said to her in a panicked voice, "Run, Ignis, run!"

They both tried to get out of the way, but the monster had already broken through the surface of the lake, sending Finn and Ignis flying towards the other side of the lake. Finn landed on the snow at the entrance of the cave while Ignis landed and slid on the ice. The monster spotted Ignis and charged at her.

Ignis saw the monster and searched for her rifle. She saw it in the snow only a few inches away. She pulled herself towards it and grabbed her rifle just as the monster reached his bony hand out and picked her up off the ice.

Finn watched in horror. "No…"

"FINN!" she screamed.

"IGNIS!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Part 1

No…

Finn watched as the monster plucked Ignis from the ice. She began to shoot the monsters head, but the monster opened its mouth and swallowed each bullet. The monster began to laugh as Ignis looked to Finn, who was watching in horror.

No… Not again…

"Finn!"

This can't happen…

Ignis struggled to get out of the monsters grasp, but the monster continued to laugh as he tightened his grasp on her.

No… Ignis…

Finn thought back to when the Destiny Gang set his home on fire. He saw the terrified faces of his family as they cried out for help. He remembered how helpless he felt… until he put the crown on…

Finn took his crown out of his backpack. I need to save her, he thought. I can't let her get hurt. I won't let her get hurt. This time… this time I'll save someone for sure…

The monster lifted Ignis to his mouth.

"FINN!"

I'll do everything it takes to protect her.

He shut his eyes tight as he placed the crown on his head.

He felt his senses slowly go away. He felt crown taking control of his body, the power of ice coursing through his veins. The voices began to chant 'The power of frost.'

Please, Finn thought, help me save her. Don't hurt her.

"I will do my best to help you, Mertens," the crown replied.

Finn spewed snow out of his hands, propelling himself towards the monster. He then used his ice power to create a giant ice fist surrounding his left fist.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

He punched the monster square in the jaw, sending it crashing to the ground. As it fell, it let go of Ignis, and she fell to the ice, sliding into the snow with her rifle landing next to her. She propped herself up on her arms, shaking her head. She then looked up to see Finn flying towards the monster.

"ICE LIGHTNING!" Finn screamed. He sent giant pieces of ice shaped as lightning hurdling towards the monster while it was down. They struck the monster in his rib cage, puncturing what little skin was there. The monster struggled for a moment to stand, but it soon broke the ice easily, laughing as it got to its feet. As it did, the little skin that was on his chest fell into the lake he had broken through. It revealed a single organ in the monster.

"Finn," the crown said. "The heart…"

I see it, Finn thought.

The monsters heart could be seen in its ribcage. It was slightly scarred, but it was still beating.

I didn't think these things had hearts, Finn thought.

"Well," the crown said, "it doesn't matter. Heart or no heart, that thing must be destroyed."

You're right, Finn thought. It could come after us. It could go after Ignis…

The monster charged at Finn, but Finn shot ice shards at the monster as it got closer. The monster stopped, covering its eye sockets with its hands. Then Finn shot heavy snow at the monster, sending it down to the ground, cracking the ice on the lake as it fell in the green goop.

Finn used his power of ice to create a giant ice shard. He held it in front of him, aiming it at the monsters heart.

"We need to get a perfect shot, Mertens," the crown said.

I know, Finn thought to the crown. I'll try, but it's hard to do it with the ribcage there.

"Just kill it," the crown said. "Kill this abomination!"

Finn prepared to strike.

"NOW. YOU. DIE!" Finn threw the ice shard at the monster. It flew towards it, making it through the monsters narrow ribcage and puncturing its heart. The monster screamed a blood curdling scream, causing Finn and Ignis to cover their ears.

"SHUT UP!" the crown screamed. In that moment, the crown controlled Finn's body to create a giant hammer. The crown then made Finn fly towards the monster and smash its head with the hammer. The monsters skull smashed into pieces, and the monster fell silent. The monsters jaw opened slightly, revealing a small purple hat with a yellow feather on the top.

Wait, Finn thought. That hat…

Choose Bruce…

The monster slowly sank into the goop, disappearing from sight. Finn landed on the snow in front of the cave, panting from the fight he had just had.

"Good riddance, abomination," the crown whispered venomously.

Ignis couldn't stop staring at Finn.

Wow, she thought. He's so powerful with the crown. His voice sounds slightly higher. And… he's so… scary. What am I talking about? I shouldn't think of him as a scary guy. He just saved my life! I should be asking if he's ok. And I should be thanking him.

Ignis got up from the snow, carrying her rifle, and ran to Finn, who had his back to her.

"Finn!" she said. "That was amazing! You were so strong! Are you ok, though? Did it get you?" She reached her hand out to touch his shoulder, but he turned around before she could. His eyes were glowing blue from the crown's power.

Ignis blinked, surprised by Finn's eyes. "Finn…?"

Alright, Finn thought to the crown. I can take it from here.

The crown began to laugh. But this laugh was different. It sounded… maniacally.

Um… dude? I said I can take it from here.

"No way, Mertens," the crown said. "Now I'll do what you won't."

But you promised you wouldn't hurt her!

"I said I would do my best to help _you_, Mertens," the crown replied. "And trust me. We'll be better off without this girl." The crown began to laugh maniacally, only it came out of Finn's body as Finn's voice.

Ignis took a step back. "Finn? What… what are you…"

Hey, Finn thought to the crown. You can't do this!

"Something is very, very wrong with you, Miss Ignis," the crown said to Ignis. "I can sense it." The crown made Finn step closer to Ignis as she backed away. "You have a flaw. And I don't like flaws." The crown used Finn's hand and robot hand to make an ice sword as he continued to step forward. Ignis' hands shook as she lifted her rifle in defense.

"While I can't see the flaw now—"

The crown made Finn raise the ice sword, preparing him to strike.

"I don't want you to live long enough for us to find out."

NOOOOOO! Finn screamed.

Ignis was terrified. He wouldn't hurt me, she thought. Not after going to all that trouble to save me. Something is wrong. Very wrong. I don't want to hurt him, but—

Wait a minute. Did he say… us?

The crown…

Please don't do this! Finn pleaded.

The crown simply continued to laugh, as it swung its ice sword at Ignis. She ducked, barely missing it. She then aimed her rifle at the crown on Finn's head and fired. As the crown flew off of Finn's head, Finn's eyes turned back to their original color and Finn fell to his knees. Ignis got on her knees and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Finn! Are you ok?"

Finn shook his head, his eyes shut tight. Then he pressed his left hand to his forehead as he stared at the snow.

"DAMN IT!" Finn heard the crown scream. "STUPID GIRL!"

"Finn?" Ignis asked. She gently placed her hand under Finn's chin and lifted his face. Finn shifted his gaze to Ignis and they both stared into each other's eyes.

"Ignis… what…" Finn struggled to recall what had just happened. "What… happened?"

"Finn," she began, "You almost… well… you almost killed me."

Finn's eyes widened as he stared down at his hands. No, he thought. I would never do that…

"But, it wasn't you," she said. Finn looked up as she continued. "Your eyes were glowing blue, and you were laughing maniacally. I knew it wasn't you… it was the crown."

Finn suddenly remembered what happened. He recalled how he pleaded and screamed at the crown to stop, and how he couldn't control his own body.

"Oh, Glob, Ignis!" Finn looked to Ignis in anguish as he took her hand in his. "I'm so sorry! I swear it wasn't me! The crown was controlling me… I couldn't stop him!"

"I know," Ignis said, squeezing his hand. "I know you wouldn't do that." She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, causing Finn's face to get hot and turn red.

"I'm just glad you're ok," Ignis said.

Finn wrapped his arms around her and said, "Yeah… You too."

The clouds in the sky dispersing slightly, and it showed some barely visible patches of the sky here and there.

Finn and Ignis broke the hug then, as they noticed the area around them became slightly brighter.

"Mertens. Pick me up."

Finn looked behind him to see the crown on top of the snow. He got up and walked over to pick up the crown.

"You tried to kill her," Finn said to the crown.

"We would've been better off without her."

"How could you? You know what she means to me."

"It's because of that that I have to get rid of her. We need to focus on our kingdom of ice. You shouldn't be fooling around with this girl. While you may not see it, I can sense something wrong with her. I don't want her to ruin our plans."

"You mean your plans," Finn said.

"But, Mertens—"

"No." Finn stuffed the crown into his backpack. "I don't want to hear another word out of you."

Finn turned around and went back to Ignis, who was waiting with her hands behind her back.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"Nothing important," Finn grumbled. "So, should we go get the food?"

Ignis nodded. She took his hand and gently squeezed it, making Finn blush. Finn smiled at her, causing her to blush as well. They both walked into the cave, still holding hands.

Part 2

The cave was filled with wooden boxes and crates containing food and water. There were some burnt banners and fabrics with words on them that had fallen on top of some of the boxes. Most of the crates were broken, but a few were still intact. The crates were also singed, the broken corners of the crates being completely black. The ceiling of the cave was filled with icicles hanging down.

Finn and Ignis began to go through the boxes for food. They collected things like fruit, vegetables, and some loaves of bread. They also took some plates and cups and anything else they thought they might need.

As they searched, Finn began to think of the hat he saw in the monsters mouth. While his memory was fuzzy because of the crown, he remembered that it looked like Choose Bruce's hat. He wondered if maybe Choose Bruce had been attacked by that monster. He began to imagine Choose Bruce's face in terror as he was being chased by a monster, saying one last rhyme before being devoured.

Then another thought crossed Finn's mind. What if the monster was Choose Bruce? He thought, If Jake turned into a scary monster, could Choose Bruce have become one too? And if it is true, could all of these monsters simply be all of his friends that were once alive? The thought of this chilled Finn to the bone, because if that was true, then it would mean that each monster he had slain was once a friend of his in town. No, he thought. Don't think about it. Just put that in the vault and don't think about it again.

Finn focused himself on looking for more food and water when Ignis broke his focus.

"Finn," she asked, "were these crates from the market place?"

Finn looked up at her. She had her back to him, looking down into one of the broken crates.

"I think so," he said. "Why?"

Ignis didn't respond. She simply continued to look down into the crate. Finn continued to look at her until she began sniffling. She was crying.

"Ignis?" Finn moved over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She bent down and reached her hand into the crate. When she brought her hand up, she was holding a candle. She held it close to her chest as a tear fell down her face.

"I think my father's candle shop was here," she said. She began to sob, letting the tears fall down her face as she held the candle close to her.

Finn frowned. He hated seeing her like this. Not only because he hated to see Ignis sad, but also because it reminded him of what he had done to cause her suffering. He put his left arm around her. As he did, she placed her hand on his, her other hand still holding the candle. They stood there together, as Ignis released the tears of mourning she couldn't release any time before. As she cried, Finn closed his eyes and bowed his head, hating him and the crown for causing so much pain and grief.

Ignis, he thought. I'm so sorry. I would take it all back if I could. I'd take everything back, believe me. I don't want you to cry. I want you to be happy. You deserve more than this wasteland. You deserve to live like the beautiful princess you are. Please… I'll take care of you. I'll always be here for you. As long as you want me here, I'll never leave you. I…

Finn's eyes began to tear up, but he kept his eyes closed so as to not let them escape.

I love you.

Part 3

Finn was lying on his ice bed, staring up at the ceiling. After he had gotten Ignis to stop crying, they finished gathering food and left the cave. The walk home was completely silent, and as soon as they returned home they placed the food they gathered in the kitchen. Finn had found a box of matches in one of the crates, and he gave it to Ignis. She placed it in her coat before they each retreated to their own rooms.

Finn thought about the events of the day. He recalled when he and Ignis were spinning on the ice, laughing and smiling. She had looked so beautiful with her curly hair spinning around her, and she had the cutest little dimples when she smiled. But then his mind unwillingly recalled the frightfulness of the monster that had spoiled their fun, the terror he felt when he saw Ignis was in trouble, and the anger he felt towards the crown.

I hate you, Finn thought. I freaking hate you! I can't believe you would do that to Ignis. She deserves to live! She's sweet and kind and strong and- something about her just makes me want to... I don't know, man. And I know you can hear me, you with your telepathic junk, so listen up! If you ever try to hurt her again, and I mean EVER, I will never forgive you!

The crown was still in Finn's backpack, which was under the bed. The crown remained silent.

Do you hear me? Finn screamed in his head.

The crown was silent for a moment, and then it answered, "How can you care so much for someone you barely know? You've known me longer than that wench, yet you feel more strongly for her. Have we not had more time to bond?"

But you're the reason the world is like this, Finn thought. I only wanted to save my family, and I don't even know if I accomplished that. And all you ever talk about is ice and snow, and you're just a crown. Ignis is the only real person I have now, and I don't want to lose her man. She's so rad, the way she's kept herself alive these last few months. And she's so cute...

Finn let his mind trail off, but the crown brought him back by asking him, "Mertens... this girl... she shouldn't mean so much to you... I can sense something wrong with her, and whatever it is, it's getting stronger. I just... I've already lost one master. I don't want to lose another."

Finn was silent for a moment. Then, keeping his eyes glued to the ceiling, he said curtly, "Don't ever try to hurt her again."

And with that, their conversation ended.

Part 4

While Finn was in his room, Ignis was laying in her ice bed, which was rather uncomfortable for her. She stared up at the flower carvings in the ceiling, following the path each vine made as it intersected and twisted with others. She took the candle out of her coat and held it close to her chest as her mind wandered in the past, when things were much simpler. She remembered a day when her father came home with a gift for her. They were scented candles colored pink, blue, and light green. She remembered the candles smelled of apples when her father lit them and placed them in the kitchen so every day the house would smell like crisp apples. She remembered a time when she and her father would walk through the market and buy oranges just so they could suck them dry and hold them in their mouths with big smiles on their faces. She remembered how people would say she was the spitting image of her father, and she loved the compliment. She loved her father so much...

But now he's gone...

Because of those stupid monsters!

Her feelings quickly turned to anger as she remembered the monster that took her father's body, along with every other monster after that. She hated those things. Her hands trembled as she tightened her grip on the candle in her hands. She soon realized what she was doing and loosened her grip. She then sat up and thought back to earlier in the day. She smiled as she remembered the fun she had when she was spinning on the ice with Finn.

He is really sweet, she thought. He didn't have to take me in, but he did anyway. And he's been so kind to me, what with making me a room of my own and taking care of me. It's only been a day since we've met, and already I feel like I've known him my whole life.

Ignis got an idea and went to the kitchen. She grabbed a small chipped bowl and brought it back to her room. She placed the bowl on the table by her bedside and put the candle in the bowl.

My father would have liked him, she thought. Not only is Finn kind, but he's strong and honest too.

She took out the box of matches from her coat pocket and lit one of the matches. Then she lit the candle and watched as the flame grew brighter. Then, to her surprise, the smell of apples filled the air. Ignis smiled.

"You would've liked Finn, Dad," she said. "He's a very special guy."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Part 1

Ignis had just woken up. She stood up from her bed and stretched, rubbing her aching back. Man, I wish there were some mattresses in that cave, she thought. She yawned as she walked to the window. The sky wasn't as cloudy as usual, but the blue sky still could not be seen. Other than that, nothing else had changed.

Ignis was about to head for the door when she saw that her bed had dents in it. Upon inspection, she found that the bed had melted to fit her shape again.

"What the hell?" She looked to the candle on the table, but it was still where she left it. "How the hell does this keep happening?" She couldn't figure out how this had happened again. After thinking about it for a while, she gave up.

"I-It's probably nothing," she said to herself unconvincingly. She left the room and went into the living room, expecting Finn to be there, but the room was empty. She checked the kitchen, but it was empty too.

Maybe he's still sleeping, she thought. She went to his room and quietly peeked at him from the door.

Finn lay strewn across the bed, with the blanket on the floor and one leg hanging off the edge of the bed. His white bear hat was on the table, so Ignis could see his white shiny hair. Finn gave a small snore that made Ignis giggle.

He looks so funny like this, she thought. She walked over and picked up the blanket from the floor. She threw it on top of Finn and tucked it around him. Finn turned onto his side and smiled, causing Ignis to smile too.

He's done so much for me, she thought. And he barely knows me. I want to do something for him. I want to show him how much I care about him.

She leaned against the side of the door and thought. I wonder what I should do. I want it to be something special.

As much as she thought about what to do, all she could think to do at the moment was to surprise him with breakfast in bed. "Glob, I'm unoriginal," she said to herself. She left the room, taking one last glance at Finn, and headed to the kitchen. She searched the cabinets for the best food they had. She looked over everything and sighed. "Well, I better make it a good breakfast."

Finn woke up feeling very cozy in his blanket. He sat up and stretched before getting out of bed. Man, he thought, I need to find some pillows or something for that bed. He yawned, covering his mouth, when he heard a crash from the kitchen. Oh Glob, he thought, I hope it's nothing big. He grabbed his crown from his backpack and ran to the kitchen. He was just about to put the crown on when he saw Ignis. She was scraping up shards of the plate she had broken. She looked up and smiled impishly.

"Sorry," she laughed nervously. "I hope I didn't wake you up."

Finn smiled. "No, it's fine. I was getting up anyway." Finn looked around the kitchen to see all of their food supplies on the counters, with various splatters of food on the counters and partially on the floor. "What's up with this?"

Ignis gathered all the plate shards and threw them out the window before answering. "Um, well, ha ha, I thought that maybe, you know, um, I would make you some breakfast. You know, to, um, say thanks."

Ignis felt her face get hot. Jeez, I'm blushing, she thought. Why am I blushing? And why am I so nervous?

Finn smiled. "Wow, thanks! I didn't know you could cook."

"I can't," she said. "And there was nothing to cook with. I'm sorry, but it looks like breakfast is going to be on the cold side."

"That's fine. I've gotten used to the cold, you know." Finn laughed, but Ignis didn't. She remembered what had happened with the crown and wasn't very comfortable talking about it.

"Well," she said, "I'll finish your breakfast then. I'll let you know when it's ready. It won't take long."

"Alright." Finn went into the living room and sat on the ice sofa. He still hadn't fixed the dent in it that Ignis had left. He was still angry at the crown and wasn't very excited about putting it on again. He still couldn't believe the crown would do such a thing.

"Mertens…"

Finn looked down at the crown with contempt. "What?"

"Mertens… I…"

"If you're not going to apologize, I don't want to hear it."

"What?" Ignis came in with a plate of food.

"Nothing," Finn said. "Just talking to the crown."

Ignis frowned. "Oh…"

Finn looked at the plate in Ignis' hands. There were several blueberries, strawberries and raspberries smashed onto a piece of bread to make jelly. Then there was a piece of cold ham, with a smiling face carved into it. She also held a glass of some sort of juice in her hand. Finn looked up to see her smiling with those cute little dimples of hers.

"Sorry there isn't more," she said as she handed him the food and drink. "I didn't want to use too much of the food. We gotta make it last. Plus, I couldn't really find much 'breakfast' food other than this."

Finn smiled at her. "It looks delicious." He looked at the smiling piece of ham and laughed. "I like what you did with the ham."

Ignis laughed. "Yeah, I was trying to be clever. Well, I hope you like it." She was about to leave when Finn spoke.

"Wait! Aren't you going to join me?"

Ignis turned around to see Finn looking at her expectantly. She smiled. "Alright." She went into the kitchen to grab her food. As she did, Finn got up and placed the crown on the table by the front door. Ignis came back as he sat down.

"Need something?" She asked as she saw Finn sit down.

"Nah, I just needed to put the crown away." Finn took a bite of the ham.

Ignis frowned. "That reminds me. I wanted to talk to you about the crown."

Finn looked up at her and swallowed before answering. "It's about yesterday, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well, I already talked to him, and he's sorry," Finn lied.

"Finn don't lie." Ignis looked Finn right in the eyes. "With the way the crown acted and how determined he was on killing me, I don't think he would be so quick to apologize. Am I right?"

Finn didn't answer. Glob, how is she so smart?

"I thought so," she continued. "Anyways, I wanted to tell you… I don't think you should put the crown on anymore."

Finn looked down at his plate. "I'll control it. I won't let him hurt you Ignis."

"I don't give a flip about what it does to me! I'm worried about how it will affect you! You think you can control it, but you can't! When you put that thing on, you become a completely different person. And I don't like him. I like you. And I don't want you to become that person again."

"Ignis, I would it if I never had to even look at that crown ever again, but whether I like it or not, that crown is the only reason I survived for so long. If it weren't for him…" Finn trailed off. The crown had not only caused this snowy wasteland to form, but it was also the one thing that kept Finn alive.

"Finn, do you really want that… thing… to control you against your will?"

"Ignis, it's complicated. See, I promised the crown a land of ice. A kingdom where he could rule. And I don't want to do it, but I have to. I'm bound by my word."

"Finn, please!" She took his face in her hands. His face became hot when he saw how close his face was to hers. "I don't want to see you like that again. It's scary."

Finn frowned. "Ignis…"

"Finn, promise me you won't put it on again."

Finn looked into her dark eyes and felt his will fail him. He gave in and said, "I promise, Ignis."

Ignis hugged him tight, burying her face in his shoulder. Finn wrapped his arms around her and heard her whisper, "Thank you, Finn."

Finn smiled faintly, but it quickly disappeared. He knew that this was a promise he would not be able to keep.

Part 2

Finn and Ignis finished their breakfasts and continued to talk. They went away from the subject of the crown and began talking about the things they liked and the things they would do before the bomb went off.

"I loved to paint," Ignis said. "Especially in candlelight. Whenever I could I would go into the marketplace and buy as much paint as I could afford. Then I'd bring it home and paint all over my room." Ignis smiled at the memory. "And when it was dark, I would light a candle and see how the flame flickered and made these shadows that danced on top of my paintings. I absolutely loved it."

Finn smiled. Wow, he thought. She's just so... so wow.

"So," Ignis asked, "Do you like to paint?"

"Oh, no I can't draw to save my life," Finn said. "But I used to play the flute. It was really fun, and it Jake always liked to hear music."

"That's your dog, right?"

"Yeah." Finn sighed. "I really miss him. I miss how things used to be."

"I know. I do too."

Finn took Ignis' hand in his left hand. He said, "At least we have each other, right?"

Ignis looked at their hands and blushed. She looked up at him and said, "Yeah. We have each other."

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Finn got up.

"Are you up for going out today?"

Out? Ignis thought. "What do you mean out?" she asked. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to go give your mom and dad a proper fairwell."

Ignis gave a small gasp. "Are you sure? I mean, what if we get attacked?"

"Then I guess we're going to have to kick some butt, aren't we?" Finn held his hand out for her. "So, are you up for it?"

Ignis smiled. I do want to give my parents a proper goodbye, she thught. And besides, maybe there'll be a little adventure afterwards. "Sure," she said.

"Algebraic!" Finn said as he punched the air. Ignis laughed at his outcry. "Just let me get my backpack and we'll be on our way."

Finn ran to his room to get ready. Meanwhile, Ignis went to her room and got her rifle ready as she thought about Finn.

Man, she thought, he's such a great guy. His hand is so soft. And his eyes are huge. And his hair is so nice and shiny, even if it is white. And I feel so happy when he laughs and smiles. I just... I feel really safe with him. I haven't felt safe since my parents were alive. I really think that I would've starved to death in the cold if it weren't for Finn. He saved me.

Finn entered Ignis' room with his backpack on. "You ready to go?"

Ignis finished loading her rifle. "Yeah, totes. Let's go!"

Ignis and Finn went out the front door, but Finn stayed behind long enough to quietly grab the crown and put it in his bag.

Just in case, he thought.

Part 3

"This way!"

Finn followed Ignis through the deep snow as she led him to her old home. The snow was ankle deep and freezing. They were going over several hills as Ignis led the way.

"How do you remember where it is?" Finn asked.

"I had to live out here on my own for 6 months," she said. "I learned how to recognize the land by any pools of goop or caves that were around."

They had just gotten to the top of another hill when Ignis pointed forward shouted out, "There it is!"

Finn looked where she was pointing to see a dent in the ground the size of a house. There were some pieces of wood sticking up, not completely covered in snow. Close by, there was a pool of green goop. Finn frowned as he saw it. He remembered what Ignis had said about the monster that killed her mother.

"Ignis, are you sure you're ok with this?" Finn asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Ignis looked at him with a face of determination. "Yes."

Finn nodded. "Ok."

They made their way down the hill and headed towards the site. Ignis ran ahead of Finn, as the images of her mother and father flashed in her mind. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she reached the site. It was empty. Simply empty. Like there never was any home there to begin with.

Finn ran up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She did not respond. She simply stared into the middle of the site.

"Ignis?" he asked. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Ignis held back her tears, wiping away the one that dared to escape. She looked at Finn and whispered, "Yes. I'm ok."

Ignis then got on her knees, her hands on her lap. Finn did the same. "This is where we used to live," she said. "We were very happy here. Mom… Dad… I'm so sorry that this happened. Every night I wish that it hadn't. I always think about you. Every night I dream about you, and I see your smiling faces, but then I wake up and I remember that you're gone and then all I want is to fall asleep again so I can see you. Mom, I miss you. I miss your cooking, the way you always patched me up when I scratched my knees, and the way you always looked. You were always so beautiful without even trying.

And Dad… I miss you! I miss you so much!" The tears in Ignis' eyes brimmed over, falling down her face and dripping off her chin. "I miss the way you always came home with a smile on your face even though I knew how difficult your day must've been. I miss the days when you and I would go into the marketplace and eat oranges and make smiley faces with the orange peels. I miss the way you smell. You always smelled like the scented candles you sold. You taught me how to defend myself from the bad people you said can exist in the world. I always wanted to be like you, Daddy! I want to be strong, brave and caring like you! But damn it, Daddy, why did you leave me and Mom in the cellar!? You could've have gotten in! You could've survived with me and Mom! We could've stayed a family!"

Ignis began to sob uncontrollably, and her body shook with each sob. Finn moved towards her and held her in his arms. Ignis turned into Finn's chest and continued to sob. Finn gently stroked Ignis' hair as he stared into the dent in the snow.

"You raised a wonderful daughter," Finn began to say. "I never met you, but from what Ignis has told me, you seem like you were very good and kind-hearted people. Your daughter… is simply amazing. She's been able to survive on her own for the past few months. She taught herself how to you use her father's gun—your gun—and has used it to defeat giant monsters. Mr. Ignis' dad, she is everything you were." Ignis looked up at Finn. Finn smiled and looked at Ignis as he continued. "She is strong, brave, and caring like her father. From what she's told me about you, and from what I've seen from her, she must be your daughter. It seems like a part of you has stayed with her. As for your wife…" Finn pulled away enough so that he could place his hand on her cheek, wiping a tear away with his thumb "…your daughter must've inherited that beauty, because Ignis is incredibly beautiful." Ignis blushed at the compliment. Finn saw this and his smile grew bigger.

"You raised a perfect daughter. And you should be very proud of what she's been able to overcome. I know I am."

Ignis hugged Finn and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. "Thank you Finn. That was beautiful."

"Anything for you, milady," he replied.

The two of them stared into each other's eyes, both of their faces completely flushed.

I should tell her now, he thought. I should tell her how I feel. I can't stand it. I have to tell her!

"Ignis?"

"Yes, Finn?"

"Ignis… I… I-I lo—"

Suddenly great big bubbles started forming on the surface of the nearby pool of goop. Finn and Ignis both got on their feet quickly. Ignis pulled out her rifle and pointed it at the pool of green goop, ready to fire at the first thing she saw. Finn, remembering his promise, searched his bag and pulled out prosthetic limb sword that his dear friend Choose Bruce had given him. He replaced his robot arm with the sword and prepared himself for battle.

The two of them were expecting the giant skeleton monster to appear. However, it did not. Instead, they saw multiple green figures crawl out of the green goop. They were all deformed in different ways, but each one of them had two arms and two legs. Their eyes and mouth were simply holes in their head, and some of the green goop was oozing out of them. They moaned and groaned as they came out of the green goop. There were at least 30 of them altogether.

"What the hell are these things?" Ignis asked as she observed the creatures incredulously.

"I don't know!" Finn yelled. "But… wait…" It suddenly dawned on Finn what they were. "Ignis… I think these things are humans!"

Part 4

"Humans?!" That's crazy, Ignis thought. "What makes you think these things are humans?!"

"Well, maybe they're not humans now, but they might've been once. I don't know, that's just what I think!"

"Well, regardless of what they are, we need to whoop their butts!" Ignis said.

Finn nodded. "Right!"

The creatures were getting closer, circling the Finn and Ignis on all sides. Finn and Ignis stood back to back with their weapons at the ready.

"You ready?" Ignis asked.

"I was born ready! Let's whoop their slimy butts!"

"On the count of three. One… two… three!"

They both separated and charged at the creatures in front of them. Finn ran at the creatures on his side and jumped in the air once he saw that one of them was about to grab him. He fell right in the middle of the group of slimy creatures and swung his sword to chop off their heads. One creature grabbed Finn from behind, but Finn reached behind for the creature's small neck with one hand. He brought the creature over his head and threw him down in the snow in front of him, quickly stabbing him in the head with his sword. Finn saw a couple of creatures coming at him from his left, so he pulled out his sword and chopped one head after the other as the creatures continued to charge, not knowing what was happening. Finn laughed as he continued to fight. Before he knew it, the creatures circled him on all sides. Finn grew a cocky smile and waited. Soon the creatures all charged at Finn at the same time. Finn waited until they were close enough and then spun around with his sword extended outward, slicing each creature as they came near him.

Meanwhile, Ignis charged at the monsters and fired at the first one she saw. The bullet flew through the monsters head and went on to pass through three more heads. Ignis smiled and continued to shoot rows of creatures at a time. She didn't realize until it was almost too late that two creatures were running towards her from both sides. As soon as she saw them, she jumped high in the air and kicked both of them at the same time, knocking them down. She noticed that the creatures were soft and almost jelly-like. She landed on her feet and punched a creature as it ran towards her. She turned around in time to see a creature charge at her. The creature lunged at her, but she grabbed it by the wrists, dropping her rifle. The creature was oozing out green goop from its mouth and eyes. The green goop threatened to fall on Ignis, and she struggled to keep the creature away from her face. She heard another creature coming from behind. As soon as the creature was close enough, she dropped down to the snow and swung her leg at a 180 degree angle. The first creature lost its balance and the second creature tripped as Ignis swung out her leg, causing the two creatures to fall face first into each other and knocking them out. Ignis jumped to her feet, grabbed her rifle and shot both creatures in the head to confirm they were dead. She continued to fight, shooting, punching, kicking, and using the back of her rifle to hit the creatures. As the two continued to fight, the number of the creatures they were fighting went down, and they soon found themselves standing next to each other as they continued to fight.

"How are you doing?" Ignis asked as she gave an uppercut and a kick to a creature.

"Not bad," Finn said as he grabbed a creature's head and pulled it into his sword. "It's weird, but fighting these things feels kind of good. It feels natural. Like peeing outside."

Ignis laughed. "Dude, TMI." She took two creatures and smashed their heads together before throwing them to the ground. "But I get what you're saying."

Finally, the last creature stood in front of them. It moaned and groaned stupidly as it charged at them. Finn and Ignis smiled at each other.

"I'll hold him down and you beat him up, ok?" Finn asked her.

Ignis smiled. "Ok!"

Finn moved as soon as the creature was close enough, causing it to miss. Then Finn grabbed the creature's head with his left hand and held his sword to the creature's throat. The creature squirmed in Finn's grasp, unable to escape. "He's all yours, Ignis!"

Ignis gave a mischievous chuckle as she cracked her knuckles. She began to punch the creature several times in the stomach, making every punch harder each time. Once Ignis was done, Finn let go of the creature, which did not move at all. Ignis swung herself with her leg extended outward and kicked the creature in the gut, causing it to fly backwards a few feet and land nearby the pool of green goop. Finn and Ignis walked toward the creature. Finn brought his sword onto the creature, stabbing it in the chest. When he removed his sword, green goop flowed out of the creature's chest.

"We did it!" Finn rejoiced. He gave Ignis a high five and then proceeded to hug her, lifting her from the ground and spinning her around. They both laughed.

"Man, that was great! And exhausting," Ignis said as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "Did you feel like you were getting a rush out of it too?"

"Hecks yeah! That was the most mathematical fight ever! These things were much easier to beat than those skeleton monsters!"

"Yeah, this was totes fun! We make a really good team, you and I."

"Heh heh. Y-Yeah, we do." Finn blushed at the words 'you and I'. "Hey, I'm going to go check to make sure they're all dead. You wanna check with me?"

"Nah, I'm good. I think I'll just wait here."

"Alright." Finn went over to the big pile of dead creatures to begin checking. As he did, Ignis was lost in thought.

Man, she thought, that was one heck of a battle. And it was so cool how we fought back to back like that. Finn is really good at fighting. He's super strong and super good. Dad would've really liked him. They could've gone hunting together or something. They could've even had little fights with each other to see who'd win. Ignis sighed. "If only Finn could've have met you guys, Mom and Dad," she said quietly. "You would've loved him." Ignis' thoughts changed to focus on Finn. He's so kind, she thought. And his eyes are a nice blue when he doesn't have the crown on. I wish he didn't have that stupid crown anymore. Then it could just be me and him. We could survive together and lift each other up the way lovers should…

Wait a minute! No, I shouldn't think of him like that! I bet he wouldn't even like me back. But… he is really sweet. And he is kind of cute. Oh, I don't know what to think!

Ignis was too busy thinking to notice that the creature by her feet was slowly gaining consciousness. It grabbed Ignis firmly by the ankle before she could react and began to sink into the pool of green goop, pulling Ignis with it. Ignis fell backwards and hit her head on the ground, making her disoriented. She came back to reality when she felt the familiar burning sting of the green goop on her skin. She yelled out in pain as the creature was pulling her quicker into the goop. Finn heard her yell and looked just in time to see Ignis' head disappear under the green goop.

"IGNIS!" Finn ran to the pool of goop but stopped short of diving in. How am I going to get her out without going in? Finn thought.

"Mertens, if you go in after her, who knows what the toxins could do to you!" the crown said.

"I know that," Finn said curtly. "So what do you propose we do, huh?"

"We can create an ice spoon to scoop up the girl and save her from the toxins. Once my ice is in the goop, I'll be able to sense exactly where she is in the goop."

"How can I trust that once I put you on, you won't try to hurt her again?"

"Mertens, I—"

"Promise me you won't hurt her!"

"I will do my best—"

"NO! You need to promise me you won't hurt her! Say it! Say 'I promise I won't hurt her'!"

The crown sighed. "Fine. I promise."

"SAY THE WHOLE THING!"

"I promise I won't hurt her!"

Finn took the crown out of his backpack and placed it on his head. "Good. Now get her out of there!"

As the crown took Finn's body as its vessel, Ignis was down in the green goop fighting for her life. There were more creatures at the bottom of the pool of goop, and they all grabbed onto her. She was in desperate need of air and was kicking them frantically until she finally escaped their grasp. She tried to swim up to the surface, but the creatures were faster here in the goop. A creature quickly swam up to Ignis and grabbed her from the legs and started pulling her back down. Ignis turned and kicked the creature frantically. She was out of air and was now choking on the green goop. She tried to get away, but the creature finally pushed her into a rocky wall. She hit her head right on a sharp rock, and she became unconscious. Her body slowly fell to the bottom as a few air bubbles floated out of her mouth to the surface.

On the surface, the crown had made the ice spoon and was dipping it into the green goop.

"Do you see her?" Finn asked.

"Yes, I do," the crown answered. "She has no air, and she's unconscious. And there are creatures at the bottom. If I get her, Mertens, I may pick up the other creatures as well."

"I don't care! Just save her!"

The crown sighed and did as he was told. He reached his ice spoon to the bottom and quickly scooped up Ignis, along with three of the creatures from before, and dropped them onto the snow beside Finn.

"Let me get these things," Finn said in a deep voice. The crown obeyed and gave Finn control over his body again. Finn quickly stabbed the first creature in the chest and brought his sword up to slice his head in half. He killed the next creature by cutting the top of his head off. He then finished off the third creature by stabbing it repeatedly in the head until he could no longer tell where his eye sockets had been. He kicked each body away from Ignis' body before kneeling down at her side. He quickly switched his sword for his robot arm before picking Ignis up in his arms. Her body was extremely warm. "Ignis! Oh, Ignis, please wake up!"

Ignis' hair and clothes were soaking wet. There were burns on her face from the green goop. The burns bled slightly, and Ignis' face was pale. Finn put his head to her chest. She wasn't breathing and her heartbeat was faint. Finn began to cry.

"NO! IGNIS, PLEASE WAKE UP! AND CAN'T LOSE SOMEONE ELSE! I CAN'T LOSE YOU! ESPECIALLY NOT YOU! PLEASE!" Finn's body shook as his cries turned into sobs. "Please Ignis!" He brought her head to his and pressed his forehead to hers. "Please, come back to me. I love you. Please…"

Finn's tears dripped off his chin and fell on her face. As they hit her skin, they quickly evaporated with a hardly audible hiss.

"Mertens," the crown said gently. "You should bring her home. She'll be alright. We just need to take her home so her body can rest. She inhaled many toxins and absorbed some toxins through her skin. Her bosy is in shock."

Finn wiped away his tears, but he continued to cry. "Alright," he whispered. He gave Ignis a quick kiss on the forehead before picking her up in his arms. He started walking, using the footsteps in the snow to lead him home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Part 1

I'm worried about him. He hasn't left her alone since we brought her home. It's been six days. He needs to rest himself and stop worrying about her!

The crown sat on the table by Ignis' bed in her room. Ignis lay completely still except for the rise and fall of her chest. The bed had melted melted to fit her shape again. Her skin was extremely warm still, so the bed was constantly melting and Finn would have to fix her bed every few hours or so. Right now, Finn was sitting in a chair by her bedside. He was fast asleep with his mouth open as a bit of drool escaped his mouth. The crown took this silence as a chance to think to itself.

This is the first time he's slept since we returned. Poor Mertens... I knew she would be trouble. I could sense it. But the poor boy and his kind heart... he wouldn't leave her in the cold. He couldn't. I swear, he's too good for his own good. He cares for this girl too much. He hasn't been able to eat or sleep because he doesn't want to be out of the room in case she wakes up.

Stupid girl! She's ruined everything! Mertens and I were fine until she came along! I knew Mertens didn't want me from the beginning... but as time passed, I felt our bond become stronger. I sometimes even made him laugh. I thought he was finally warming up to me. Then she had to stumble upon our home! I know Mertens loves her. I can see it in the way he looks at her and the way he acts with her. And I hate it! I want her gone! She's taking him away from me! I can't let her do that. He's MY master!

But...

If I hurt her...

Mertens will never forgive me...

The crown sighed. I suppose I've reached an impasse. I don't want to anger him... but I also don't want her to break his heart. She is very weak. Her heart is just barely beating. She hasn't moved since the incident with those creatures. I truly believe she could die from this. And if she dies... my poor Mertens will be devastated.

Finn began to stir. He sat up slowly and covered his mouth as he yawned and then stretched. His eyes were red from the tears he had cried over the last few days, and he had dark circles under his eyes from his lack of sleep.

Oh, Mertens, the crown thought as he watched him.

Finn readjusted himself in his seat as he looked at Ignis. She still hadn't moved. Finn laid his head on the bed as he sighed. "Please wake up, Ignis."

The crown decided to speak. "Mertens... I don't think she will survive this."

"She's strong. She'll be fine." Finn looked up to look at Ignis' face. Her cuts were still there, though the blood had clotted. Tears welled up in Finn's eyes. "She has to be."

"Mertens, it's been six days. She's not coming back."

"Shut up."

"You need to face the facts!"

"Shut up!"

"Mertens, it's just you and me now! She might as well be dead!"

"SHUT UP!"

Finn smacked the crown off the table. It fell to the ground. The crown was silent as it processed what Finn had done.

Finn sat back down in his chair and took Ignis' hand in his. She was still extremely warm.

"Mertens, this girl has clouded your mind."

"You're the only thing clouding my mind." Finn kept his eyes on his and Ignis' hands. "Every day that passes means another bit of my memory goes away. I'm starting to forget what my parents looked like. Your making me lose my mind!"

"Mertens, believe me, I don't want any harm to come to you. I dream of a day when you and I can have our ice kingdom and rule as one!"

"That's all you care about, isn't it? You just want your kingdom."

"That's not true, Mertens!"

"Sure it is. Well, you know what? All I care about is Ignis. She's my everything, and I'm not about to lose my everything."

"Mertens, you promised me we would rule our kingdom together!"

Finn brought Ignis' hand to his lips and kissed it gently. He then lowered her hand to the bed, still holding it. He used his thumb to rub circles on the back of her hand. Finn spoke calmly.

"She's more important than any stupid kingdom."

The crown's gems glowed slightly brighter as it became angry. It watched with pure hatred as Finn looked lovingly toward Ignis and gently kissed her forehead.

That's it. She has to go.

Part 2

I didn't know where I was at first. I felt something cold on the back of my body. Then I smelled the scent of crisp apples in the air. That's when I knew I was in my room.

I know that some time must have passed, but I'm not sure how much exactly. It feels like years. I've tried to get up, move my arms, or even open my eyes, but I can't. I can't move. And I always feel like my skin is burning. It's always felt like that since the first time I was pulled into the goop, but it feels even worse now.

I don't remember much. The last thing I remember was being in the goop. I was trying to get away from one of those creatures. It pushed me, and then I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. Then everything went black. And now, here I am, unable to do anything but lay here like a vegetable. I feel so helpless. I hate it. It's been like this for Glob knows how long.

The only thing that makes it bearable is when I hear his voice.

Finn's always here with me. He tells me what the day looks like outside. From what he's told me, the clouds are starting to go away, but not by much. He tells me what he does every day, which is usually just worrying about me. And he tells me stories. Sometimes he tells me stories about things he used to do before the bomb went off, and sometimes he tells me stories about made up people.

Suddenly, I hear his voice. He's arguing. He's telling someone to shut up. It must be the crown. I wish he didn't have to have that terrible thing with him all the time. That thing is bad for him, I just know it. The way it can take over his body and control him… it's unnatural. If only we could get rid of it somehow. Then it would just be me and Finn.

Oh, Finn. He's been so kind to me. He's always taking care of me. He's so sweet and kind-hearted…

He didn't have to take me in, but he did. I was a stranger to him, but he still helped me. I think…

I think I love him. As I think this, I feel him hold my hand in his and I feel butterflies in my stomach. Maybe… just maybe, he likes me too.

No. No, don't fool yourself, Ignis. I don't think he thinks of me in the same way. He's only being nice. That's just how he is. I can't fool myself into believing something that isn't true. I can't… but I wish he did think of me that way.

Suddenly I hear his voice as he says, "She's my everything, and I'm not about to lose my everything."

Does he mean… me? Oh Glob, does he like me? Oh my Glob! Oh man, calm down, calm down, Ignis. Oh man, I can't believe it!

I feel him lifting my hand and pressing something cold to it. Are those his lips? Did he just kiss my hand? I can feel my stomach tighten at the thought. He sets my hand back down, but he doesn't let go. He starts to rub circles on the back of my hand. I swear, I feel electricity shoot through me when he does that.

Then I hear him say, "She's more important than any stupid kingdom." Then I hear him move and I feel his lips on my forehead.

Finn. He thinks that highly of me? Oh man, this is too good to be true. Am I dreaming? This has to be a dream.

Then, he starts singing.

"Sweet Ignis

I don't know if you can hear me

But if you can hear this

Just know I'll be true to thee…"

I'm not dreaming. This is real. He really does mean what he says. This is real!

"Ignis

This land of ice makes things tough

But with you here, it's enough

Together we can get through it.

I've lost my mind, but not my heart

We can tear this frozen nightmare apart

With you by my side, we can do it…"

He does like me that way. I haven't been this happy since before the bomb went off! Oh, Finn, I feel the same way!

"Ignis

You're so very smart

You're my candle in the dark

I won't let anything keep us apart

Oh, Ignis, you've stolen my heart…"

Finn…

I love you so much, Finn.

Part 3

I stop singing then. She doesn't move at all. But she will soon. I just know it.

All I ever think about is Ignis. I've been worried sick about her, man. She really is my everything. She's all I have now to keep me from going completely insane. Mom is gone. Dad is gone. Susan is gone. Barbar is gone. Jake is gone… she's all I have. I won't let anything happen to her. I can't bear to lose her…

My stomach begins to growl, but I ignore it. I don't want to leave her here alone.

I was so scared when it happened. It was so quick. All I saw was her head go under before I completely lost it. And when we pulled her out and I saw her all cut up… I felt this emptiness in me. I don't know what it was, but it was like everything inside me just sunk. It was a terrible feeling. When we brought her home, I put her down on the floor so I could fix her bed. When I did, steam went up as soon as she touched the ice floor. I quickly fixed her bed and put her on it before fixing the floor. Once I did, I turned around and saw that the bed was melting again and more steam was going up in the air. I stayed with her to make sure she didn't melt through the bed to the floor. After that, I just couldn't leave her. I love her.

The crown was right. The goop did something to her. Her skin was warm enough to make the ice melt. As the days went by, her skin became cooler, but she was still too warm. It scared me. What if she became… one of those creatures out there? But I can't think about that. I've got to put that in the vault.

Finn sighed. Man, he thought. There is one other thing I've been worried about. One thing I just can't put in the vault. I often think about what it would be like if we could be together for the rest of our lives. If the land gets better, we could start a new life and live together. But then… what if she starts asking more questions? What if she starts to wonder how the bomb went off? If she starts investigating that, then she'll eventually find out that it was me that set the bomb off. Will she hate me? What if she does? What if she never speaks to me again! Glob, I can't stand it!

I don't want her to hate me… She's all I have…

I love her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Part 1

Finn and Ignis were walking up a mountain, hand in hand. The clouds in the sky were gone, and the sun shone bright in the blue sky. The ground was covered in overgrown grass and wild flowers, and the wind blew gently, causing the grass to flow in waves of green.

Finn and Ignis were smiling and laughing as they walked. He stopped suddenly and pulled Ignis towards him as she took his robot claw in her hand. Her cheeks were rosy and her dimples showed as she smiled at Finn. The wind blew her auburn hair wildly around her face, each curly strand twisting together. Ignis placed her hands on Finn's face, causing him to blush. Before she could say anything to him, a sudden roar echoed through the air. Finn looked behind him to see a giant monster climbing up the mountain. It was larger than any other monster he had fought, and it was coming fast. The sky suddenly went dark as the grey clouds returned, releasing a heavy layer of snow. The once green grass was now covered in white snow, and the wild flowers were gone from sight.

Finn looked back at Ignis, who had already pulled out her rifle. Finn was about to reach in his backpack for his crown when the monster smacked Finn against the mountain wall with his decayed hand. Finn tried to get up, but his body would not respond. The next moment went by slowly.

Ignis fired at the monster as it came closer. It picked her up and slammed her onto the ground, causing her to let go of her rifle. Then the monster quickly picked up her rifle and ate it. Ignis was trying to get up, but the monster was quick. It cackled as it smacked Ignis with the back of its hand, sending her right off the edge of the cliff. She screamed Finn's name as she fell.

"FIIIIIINNNN!"

"IGNIS!"

Finn opened his eyes slowly. He took in his surroundings as his eyes refocused. He suddenly remembered the events he had just witnessed, and he jumped up from his chair in a panic.

"IGNIS!" he screamed. His eyes had refocused and he realized he was in Ignis' room. He looked to see she was still on her ice bed, completely still. Nothing had changed except for the fact that her bed had melted even more so that she was close to touching the floor.

It was only a dream, Finn thought. He sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Thank goodness. It was just a dream. She's still here…

But she still hasn't moved…

Finn frowned as he began lifting Ignis out of the ice bed to fix it. Her skin is cooler today, he thought. If only she would wake up.

Finn set Ignis gently on the floor before reaching for the crown. He hadn't spoken to it since their argument the night before. He felt guilty for reacting the way he did, but that didn't mean he wasn't still angry with the crown.

"Hey," Finn said as he picked up the crown from the floor. "Mind helping me fix the bed?"

"Fine," the crown said curtly. Finn frowned. He placed the crown on his head, feeling his body quickly go numb as the crown took control and began fixing the ice bed.

Listen, Finn thought to the crown. I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have snapped at you. But you need to understand that I love Ignis. She's the most important thing to me right now. I just want her to wake up. And when you said that you think she would die… I just lost it.

"I know you care for the girl, Mertens," the crown said. "You care for her a little too much, if you ask me. But you need to coe to terms with what's happened. I know you're hopeful, but she inhaled too many toxins from the goop. There's no way she could come out of the goop without some sort of consequence. It's been seven days now, Mertens. I just don't want you to be hurt when… it… happens."

_If_ it happens, Finn thought to the crown.

The crown sighed. "Finn… I just don't want you getting hurt. You're my master, and believe it or not, I care about you. Very much."

The crown finished fixing the ice bed. He picked up Ignis and put her back on the ice bed before making Finn sit down in his chair.

Finn took off the crown and looked at it. "You called me Finn."

"Well… heh heh… yes," the crown laughed nervously.

Finn smiled. "Maybe you do care about me."

"I do, Finn. I truly do. You're my master."

Finn got up and placed the crown on the table. "Well, if I'm your master, can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Yes, Master?"

"I'd like you to be nicer to Ignis. She means a lot to me."

The crown groaned. "Of all the things you could ask me to do—"

"Oh come on! She's a sweet girl! Look, you've got to meet me halfway here, man! I'll try my best to forgive you for your actions if you would just be kinder to her!"

The crown thought about this for a moment. "Finn, I don't know…"

"Please? It would mean the world to me."

Before the crown could respond, Finn saw something move in his peripheral vision. He turned his head to look. He saw Ignis' fingers on her right hand moving.

Part 2

I can move my fingers! I can't believe it! I'm so glad Finn's in the room. I can hear his voice.

"Ignis? Ignis, can you hear me?"

Yes! I can! Oh, Finn, yes, I can hear you loud and clear!

"Oh my Glob, man! OH MY GLOB! She's waking up! See! I told you she'd be ok!"

Figures the crown would want me to never wake up. But that doesn't matter now. I need to concentrate. I need to open my eyes.

"Oh man oh man oh man! What do I do? I can't just stand here! What is she going to need? She hasn't eaten in a week. Maybe I should bring her some snacks… Yeah! A whole mess of snacks! A feast fit for a princess!..."

He's so cute when he doesn't know what to do. It's a good thing he's getting snacks. I'm starving! Ok, come one, Ignis, focus! Try to wiggle your toes. Come on!...

Ignis body temperature rose as she strained to make her toes move. However, she accomplished her small goal, wiggling her toes on one foot slowly. She went on to get her toes on her other foot to move, and then she was moving both of her feet.

Some time passed, and Finn was still in the kitchen decding on what snacks to get for Ignis.

"Some ham? Yeah, ham sounds good. That covers the proteins. Next we need some fruit. We've got a bunch." Finn rummaged through one of the bags. "Hmmm. This one's got apples. I wonder how many I should bring her." He shrugged. "I guess I'll just bring her the whole bag." He set the bag on the side along with the ham. "Alright, what else do we have?"

Come on… just open your eyes!

Ignis struggled as she tried to open her eyes. They're just some stupid eyelids, she thought. Why can't I make you move?! Ugh!

She began to let her mind wander as she rested. I just want to open my eyes, she thought. I want to wake up. After yesterday… I haven't been able to stop thinking about what Finn said. I still can't believe it happened. I know it had to be real because I could not make up a song like that. It was so sweet. And he's so sweet. He's been with me 24/7, watching over me. He really does care about me.

As Ignis thought of Finn, her eyelids began to twitch a bit.

_I need to wake up._

Her eyelids fluttered.

_I need to see him_.

Her eyelids snapped open.

_I need to tell him I love him!_

Part 3

I'm awake!

Ignis stared at the ceiling before realizing where she was. She felt a cold and wet sensation on her back. She sat up to find that her bed had melted to her shape, and a pool of water was left at the bottom of the mold. Her charcoal colored coat was soaking wet, and her body felt incredibly warm. She removed the coat and placed it on the back of the chair by her bedside. She then sat on the chair, looking down at the gem in her necklace. She smiled as she thought of her mother and father.

She suddenly remembered her father's rifle. She quickly looked to her left and right in a panic, but she was relieved when she saw that the rifle was at the foot of the ice bed. She took the rifle and placed it in her lap, touching the wooden end lightly with the tips of her fingers. She felt the engraved letters _F.K._ on the wooden surface.

"Dad…"

Suddenly she heard Finn coming through the door.

"Alright! I got her all sorts of food! She's going to have the munchies when she wakes up, so I got her plenty of food! I just hope she wakes up soo—"

Finn stopped when he entered the room. His eyes widened as he stared at Ignis, sitting in the very spot he had been sitting in for the last seven days. Ignis stared back. Finn didn't have his hat on, so his shiny white locks were completely exposed. She saw the big circles under his eyes that made it seem like he had been beaten. Then she saw his mouth turn into a grand and toothy smile that she couldn't help but smile back at.

Finn quickly set the food down, keeping his eyes on Ignis out of fear that the lovely image would disappear as soon as he looked away. Ignis stood up from her chair as he made his way over to her. For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other and studying each other's faces. Finn was the first to speak.

"Ignis… I can't believe!... Are you ok?" He tentatively touched her cheek. It was incredibly warm and seemed to become warmer as he touched it.

Ignis held his cool hand to her warm skin. "I'm fine now that I'm awake. Are _you_ ok?" She reached for his cheek and just barely touched the dark circles around his eyes.

Finn blushed and felt his face become warm from her touch. "I'm fine. I'm so happy you're awake, Ignis!"

Finn suddenly wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. Ignis reciprocated the gesture and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I've missed you, Finn," she whispered softly. "It feels like I've been gone for years."

"I've missed you too, Ignis. And trust me, it feels the same when you're the one that's awake."

They both giggled. Then they pulled away just enough so that their faces were just inches apart, their arms still wrapped around each other.

I need to tell her how I feel, Finn thought.

"Finn, I—"

"Ignis, I—"

They spoke simultaneously and chuckled when they realized it.

Finn laughed. "Ok, um—"

"Um, Finn, do you mind if I go first?"

Finn was surprised, but then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Uh, yeah, sure."

Ignis took in a deep breath. She moved her arms so that her hands were on Finn's shoulders.

"Finn. When I was unconscious… I heard everything you said."

Finn turned bright red. "Everything?"

Ignis nodded. "I heard the stories you told me every night. I heard you talk about your day and what it looked like outside. And… and I heard what you said last night. I heard every word."

Finn felt his heart tighten. She heard everything?! Oh Glob, what does she think of me now? Man, that means she heard the song and everything! Is she going to reject me?

"I've been thinking about what you said since I heard you say it. And I've been trying to think of the best way to tell you how I feel…"

She's going to reject me. Oh, man. Brace yourself, Finn.

"But I think the best way would be for me to show you."

Before Finn could react, Ignis' hands slid up his neck to his cheeks, holding his face. The feeling made Finn blush. He was going to ask what she was doing, but before he could voice his question, a pair of warm lips crushed against his, silencing him. He felt his whole face get hot and his whole body froze. His eyes were wide open from surprise. Ignis' face was close enough for him to see every eyelash on her closed eyelids. Her cheeks were a beautiful rosy red, and Finn felt her soft and warm hands holding his face. He slowly embraced the kiss, closing his eyes and placing his hand and robot claw on her waist. She slid her hands up into his hair and pulled pushed him closer in response. He felt her body temperature go up, and he pulled her closer, which caused her temperature to rise even further. Finn could feel sweat form on his forehead. The heat emanating from Ignis' body was almost painfully hot. Almost.

Too soon, Ignis pulled away with a shy smile on her face. They stayed in their embrace as Finn opened his eyes, slightly unable to breathe.

"Ignis," he began before taking in another deep breath. "Does… does this mean—"

"I love you too?" she finished. "Yes, it does. I love you too, Finn."

Finn smiled a huge toothy grin. He was so full of excitement that he felt his heart tighten. He felt like he was on top of the world. After the bomb had gone off, Finn had no one but the crown. He was completely deprived of human interaction for months. He had no one to care for him and no one to be cared for. And then Ignis walked into his life. He was in love with her from the very beginning, and now he knew that she loved him too."Ignis…"

He pulled her in for a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder as his vision became blurry with tears. "You have no idea how happy you've made me!"

Ignis placed her hands on his back and held him tight. "I could say the same thing, Finn."

They stayed in their embrace for a while. Neither of them wanted that moment to end. This was their happy oasis in the middle of a freezing nightmare.

It was Ignis' growling stomach that ended the embrace. Ignis chuckled as she patted her stomach. "I guess the tank is empty," she said.

"Well, don't worry, princess. I brought you a whole mess of food!" He made a dramatic gesture towards the food, bowing his head as he did so. Ignis giggled at his gesture. She blushed as she tried to keep her thoughts from lingering on the fact that he had called her 'princess'.

"Go ahead and take a seat. I will bring you your meal, m'lady," Finn said with another bow. A blushing Ignis took a seat on the chair by her bed as Finn rushed to the kitchen for a plate. He retuned quickly, sliding to a stop on the ice, and picked out Ignis' food from the bags of food on the floor. He set the food on the plate and brought it to Ignis, along with a whole apple for himself.

"Your meal, m'lady," he said as he gave her the plate of food.

Ignis smiled as she took the plate. "Thank you, Finn."

There were three big and thick slices of ham that took up half of the plate. Then there were slices of potatoes (which were not cooked) and a great big pile of sliced crisp apple. It was a huge pile of apple slices that was taller than the slices of ham.

Ignis looked up at Finn and asked, "What's with all the apple slices?"

Finn took a seat on the edge of the ice bed before answering. "Well, while you were asleep, I kept your candle lit. When I brought you home after… you know… the box of matches I gave you slipped out of your pocket. I've been using it to keep your candle lit so the room always smells like crisp apples. I know you like it because it was your dad's and because you love the smell. So I figured maybe you might like it if I brought you some real crisp apples. They're really crunchy and juicy."

Ignis looked at the candle on the table, which was shorter in size now, and then back to her apple slices. That's so thoughtful, she thought. She took a bite of an apple slice with a loud crunch, and the sweet and tangy flavor of the juicy fruit burst in her mouth.

"How is it?" Finn asked.

Ignis smiled as she turned to him. "It's delicious, Finn." Then she leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Finn's cheek. "Thank you."

Finn blushed. "N-no problem!" Finn took a bite of his apple while Ignis began to scarf down her food.

They ate in silence. There was nothing more that needed to be said, for all the love in their hearts had been confessed. When they finished eating, they talked. They talked all the way into the night. The two of them had forgotten about everything else. For the whole day, it was just the two of them together.

Part 4

Ignis had started laughing from a joke Finn had told. Finn joined in, and the two took a while to catch their breath, wiping tears from their eyes from all of their laughter. The two of them were sitting on the ice bed, but Finn had placed one of his warmest blankets on top of it so they would be comfortable. Ignis gave a slight yawn as she looked out the window. It was dark out.

"Oh man," she said. "It's already dark out? That was quick."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Finn said with a toothy grin.

Ignis blushed. "Heh heh, yeah."

Finn got up from the ice bed and stretched his arm. "Well, if you're tired, then I'll let you go to sleep."

Finn was about to leave when Ignis reached across the bed and grabbed his arm. Finn looked back at Ignis, surprised. "What's wrong?"

Ignis looked up at him through her lashes as she spoke. "Um, nothing. It's just… I don't want to be alone. I've been surrounded by darkness for seven days, and…" She sighed. "And I'm scared. I don't want to be alone again."

Finn's face softened as he turned around and sat on the bed. "Ignis…"

She lifted her head to look at him in the eyes. "You don't mind, do you?"

Finn placed his hand on her cheek and rubbed circles with his thumb. Her temperature increased and her cheeks became rosy. "Of course I don't mind. Don't worry. I'll stay."

Ignis smiled. "Thank you."

Finn was about to lay down when he heard the crown speak.

"Finn. I've been here. The. Whole. Time. If you two are going to stay here, PLEASE move me to the living room, at least. Be considerate!"

Finn sighed. "Just a minute, Ignis." He got up, picked up the crown, and went to the living room. He set the crown on the table by the exit before saying, "Sorry. I forgot you were in there."

"REALLY? I NEVER WOULD'VE GUESSED!"

"You don't need to be so heavy with the sarcasm."

The crown sighed. "Sorry. But I was stuck there for the whole day while you and _her_ flirted with each other. That lovey-dovey stuff makes me sick, especially after a whole day of it."

_And especially if you're being lovey dovey with her,_ the crown thought to himself.

"Again, sorry man."

"It's fine. Go. Get back to her."

"Thanks."

"Uh-huh."

Finn smiled at the crown before running back to Ignis' room. He slid on the ice as he entered, but this time he didn't stop himself in time, so he slid face-first right into the wall.

Ignis got on her knees on the bed. "Finn! Are you ok?"

Still stuck to the wall, Finn put a thumbs-up and said in a muffled voice, "I'm ok!"

Ignis laughed and laid down as Finn went over to the bed to join her. He laid down next to her and took her hand in his. He felt her temperature rise fast. She turned her head to him and smiled, showing her cute dimples. Finn gave her his usual toothy grin. Then Ignis scooted herself closer to him. She placed her head on his chest and gave a happy sigh. Finn could feel his face get hot, and he knew he must be red like a tomato, but he didn't care, so he simply wrapped his arm around her waist, running his fingers through her long and curly auburn hair. He was incredibly happy in this moment.

"Finn?"

Finn looked down at Ignis. "Yeah?"

"Do you think you could sing me that song again?"

Finn smiled. "Sure." He cleared his throat before he started singing.

"Sweet Ignis

I don't know if you can hear me

But if you can hear this

Just know I'll be true to thee…"

"Ignis

This land of ice makes things tough

But with you here, it's enough

Together we can get through it.

I've lost my mind, but not my heart

We can tear this frozen nightmare apart

With you by my side, we can do it…"

"Ignis

You're so very smart

You're my candle in the dark

I won't let anything keep us apart

Oh, Ignis, you've stolen my heart…"

Ignis smiled as Finn finished his song. "You're my candle in the dark, Finn," she whispered.

Finn smiled. "We can be each other's candles," he said.

"We can lead each other through this dark world of ice."

"This world that's full of monsters."

"This world that's cold and dead."

"We can light the way to a better future."

Ignis placed her hand on his chest as she closed her eyes. "Together," she whispered.

Finn closed his eyes. "Always."

And then the two were fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone. I'd like to apologize for not being able to post the next chapter. I've had a bit of writer's block, so I haven't been able to write. However, I'm getting out of this funk, and I'm continuing to write the next chapter. Please bear with me. This week hasn't been my best, but I don't want you guys to think I've stopped writing. The story shall continue. And, as a surprise, I have created an alternate ending in addition to the ending I had intended. This story is coming to a close, and once I upload the last chapter of the story, I will add one extra chapter as an alternate ending. I thought it might be fun to write a different ending.

Anyways, thank you for continuing to follow this story. I will upload the next chapter as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you so much for your reviews and patience. It means a lot to me.

Thank you

Sincerely,

Jenny.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

Part 1

Ignis was the first to wake up that morning. She tried to get up, but the arms that were wrapped around her prevented her from doing so. Finn's face was directly in front of hers, his mouth just barely open. Ignis smiled as she remembered the night before, and she snuggled up closer to his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. It sounded like a steady drum. She was quite comfortable in Finn's arms. Her happiness showed as she smiled, and her skin went up slightly in temperature. As she listened to Finn's heartbeat, her eyelids began to droop, and she quickly fell asleep in his arms.

Finn woke up later that morning. He looked down to see that Ignis was still sleeping peacefully in his arms. He then looked towards the table to check that the crown wasn't there. All that was on the table was Ignis' rifle and her unlit candle. He smiled and stared up at the ceiling, following the pattern of the vines and flowers on the ceiling.

I've never felt so happy before, he thought. I mean, I've been happy before, but this... this feels like a new kind of happy. A kind of happy that I can't explain. It's just so... wow, man. I love this feeling. I hope it never goes away. And I hope she never goes away.

Finn adjusted himself so he was laying flat on his back. He was careful not to wake up Ignis, but she moved so that her head was on top of Finn's chest. Finn smiled as he ran his fingers through her long and curly auburn hair.

She's so beautiful, he thought. She's like a princess. She's my princess.

Ignis began to stir, and Finn placed his hand at his side. Ignis' eyes fluttered open. She lifted her head slightly as she looked around the room. When she looked back at Finn, she was greeted by his toothy smile.

"Good morning, Princess," Finn said softly.

Ignis smiled as she sat up to face him. "Good morning." She moved closer to him.

Finn sat up cross-legged, his hand and robot claw in his lap.

"So," Ignis said, "if I'm your princess, does that mean you are my prince?"

Finn shrugged. "If that's what you want, dear princess."

Ignis blushed. "Then yes. You're my prince."

Finn blushed at his new name. For the rest of that morning, the two lovers stayed in Ignis' room, talking and laughing the day away. The two were incredibly happy to finally have each other.

Ignis sat on her knees while Finn laid down with his head in her lap. In that moment, they were both silent. Ignis smiled down at Finn as she brushed his shiny white locks away from his face. Finn could feel her body temperature continue to go up.

"Hey Ignis," he asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you feel warm?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, since you woke up, I've been noticing your body has been getting really hot."

Ignis blushed. "Oh…"

Finn realized the double meaning quickly and sat up as he hurried to correct himself. "No wait! I don't mean, like, sexy hot! I mean temperature wise! You're temperature is going up! Like, way up! That's what I meant!"

Ignis looked down at her hands as she thought about this.

"I mean, not that you aren't hot!" Finn continued. "I mean, not hot. I shouldn't say hot. I mean to say that you're beautiful! That's what I—"

"It's the goop, isn't it?"

Finn became quiet. Ignis stared down at her hands as she spoke. "The goop is affecting me. I know it is. My skin has been burning more since I got pulled into it. It's only a matter of time…"

Finn placed his hand on her cheek. "Ignis…"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "It's only a matter of time before I die!"

"No!" Finn yelled. "You aren't going to die!"

"Yes I am, Finn! And if I don't die, then I'm going to turn into one of those creatures! I'll be just like those creatures we fought days ago!" Tears fell down her face.

"Ignis!"

"Finn! I don't want to be a monster! What if I can't control myself? What if I went after you?!"

"Ignis, that won't happen!" He pulled her in to him and held her. "You won't become a monster."

Ignis cried as he held her tighter. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." Finn patted rubbed her back as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I just… I hate what the world has become. It used to be easy. Now everything is out to get us. And now I'm changing because of that stupid goop!" Ignis pulled back so she could look at Finn. "All this started because of that stupid bomb. If it really was there for thousands of years like you said, why did it decide to go off after so much time?"

Finn felt his insides tighten. "I… I don't know how to answer that."

Ignis sighed. "Whatever made it go off… it's responsible for my parents' deaths. I can't get my parents back because of it…"

Finn cleared his throat. "Um, Ignis?"

"Yeah?"

"What if, maybe—just maybe—some person caused the bomb to go off and destroy everything. What would you do if they were still around?"

Ignis sighed. "I'd beat the crap out of them. Because of them, I lost my parents. That's something I can never forgive."

Finn gulped. _Oh geez. She's going to hate me!_

"But there's no point in thinking about that." She forced a smile. "We're the only ones left. So if someone did make the bomb go off, then they got what they deserved when they did it."

"He he… yeah! Right…"

Ignis leaned in to him and kissed him quickly before laying her head on his shoulder. "Finn… You're the only good thing I have left. You're so kind, and you've always been completely honest with me. Thank you for that."

Finn hugged her back with a worried look on his face. "Don't mention it." He pulled away first and got off the bed. "I'll be right back. Gotta use the little boys' room."

"Ew. Ok." Ignis feigned disgust, but her slight smile betrayed her.

"Be right back, Princess!" He went out the door and went towards the bathroom, but changed direction once Ignis was out of sight and walked to the living room. He sighed as he began pacing back and forth.

_Oh, man,_ he thought. _Oh man oh man oh man! This is bad. I mean I don't blame her for being angry about her parents death… but if she finds out what I did…_

Finn fell to his knees and hung his head as he pounded the icy floor with his fist. _Dang it! Why can't I just like a girl! I just want to live normally! Is that too much to ask?! If I could just go back to before… I could've beat the Destiny Gang another way. Saved my family some other way!_

_… Couldn't I?_

_No…_

_They were trapped…_

_I had no choice…_

_Mom…_

"Mertens, there's no point in dwelling in the past."

Finn turned around in the crown's direction, waiting for him to continue.

"What's done is done," the crown said. "But I do know what you are going through. My dear Simon was taken from me because of his hope for humanity. The poor fool… but dwelling on the past keeps us from moving forward, Mertens."

"But if Ignis finds out what I did, she'll stop loving me! She'll hate me! How am I supposed to move forward from that?!"

"She's bound to find out eventually."

"You don't care! You never cared about her! And you don't care about me!"

"Now wait just a minute—!"

"You say you care, but you just need someone to control. That's all you want!"

"Finn, I do care about you!"

"I bet you didn't care about Simon either! He was just your little puppet!"

"Don't you dare talk about Simon that way!"

They both jumped at the sound of a scream from Ignis' room.

Finn stumbled to his feet as he ran back to her room. "Ignis!"

Part 2

Ignis lay back down on the bed as she waited for Finn to return. She sighed. Thinking about the discussion she and Finn had had, she placed her hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.

"I don't feel anything," she said to herself.

_But I am changing,_ she thought. _And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm scared. I don't want to turn into something that isn't me. I don't want to be a monster like my dad…_

_No. My dad wasn't the monster. My dad is dead. Whatever was in that goop took over his body and turned that into a monster. My dad was a good man. The monster was the bad one. That monster was evil!_

_"Evil…"_

Ignis froze. _What was that?_

She sat up and listened closely for the sound, but all she heard was silence. She was about to lay back down when she heard it again.

"Evil…"

This time she understood what it had said. "Hello?" she whispered. She stared around the room, still listening, as she got off the bed. She only took a few steps when she heard the voice again.

"Evil…"

This time it was louder. She hissed as she felt the burning pain in her skin suddenly increase. She saw a brief flicker of light in the corner of her eye and turned to see the candle on the table.

_Was… was that lit before?_

She moved towards the candle. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. The pain in her skin was becoming intense. Without thinking, she tentatively reached her hand towards the flame. As soon as she felt the heat emanating from the candle, it suddenly grew in size, reaching the ceiling. The flame burned Ignis' arm in the process, and, in the same moment, her whole body was suddenly in searing pain, the burning in her skin having increased tenfold. She dropped to the floor and screamed as the pain became unbearable.

"EVIL!"

The enormous amount of heat from the oversized flame of the candle caused the icy walls and ceiling to melt quickly. The drops of water fell on Ignis' skin. Instead of soothing the pain, however, it only made it worse.

"Ignis!"

Ignis could barely hear Finn's voice in the distance. Suddenly, the flame went out, and the pain in her skin had stopped. The walls and ceiling were still dripping with water when Finn ran into the room.

Part 3

Finn fell to the floor by Ignis and held her in his arms. "Are you ok?"

Ignis was still in shock as she answered, "Yeah…"

Finn looked her square in the face. "What happened?"

"I…" She looked down at her arm. It still had the burn mark, but it was somehow almost completely healed. "I don't know…"

Finn followed her gaze and gasped when he saw her arm. "How did you burn yourself?"

"There was… this big flame. The candle! I went over to the candle and it just got huge! The flame was huge! And it kept saying the word 'Evil'. It was yelling it! Didn't you hear it?"

Finn frowned. "No, I didn't."

Ignis stared at him incredulously. "You didn't hear that? You didn't hear anything?"

"Nothing but your scream."

Ignis placed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. "Oh no. Now I'm going crazy."

Finn placed his hand and robot claw on her shoulders, causing her to look up at him. "Don't worry, Princess. You're not the only one who's hearing voices."

Ignis sighed. "What's happening to me, Finn?"

Finn pulled her into him for a hug, rubbing her back comfortingly with his hand. "I don't know. But you'll be alright."

A drop of water fell from the ceiling and landed on the back of Ignis' neck with an audible hiss. As soon as it touched her skin, she squealed in pain and covered the affected area with her hand. Finn noticed this and removed her hand to look at the back of her neck. The drop of water had left a burn mark on her skin. Finn's eyes widened.

"What was it?" Ignis asked.

"It… it was a drop of water," Finn replied.

"A drop of water?"

"Ignis… it left a burn mark on your neck."

Ignis was silent. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it.

"Ignis," Finn said. "If that little drop of water hurt you, then I don't think this Igloo is a safe place for you anymore."

"Then what would be safe? This whole land is covered in snow!"

Finn thought for a moment. "I don't know, but we'll think of something. In the mean time, I'll use the blankets I have to cover your bed so the ice doesn't hurt you in your sleep. You'll have to keep your shoes on all the time, and I'll bring you anything you need. I'll be here for you 24/7."

"Finn, I'm so sorry. I—"

Finn silenced her lips with a quick kiss, causing her to turn red and emanate heat.

"Don't be sorry, Princess," he said sweetly. "We'll figure this out."

Ignis smiled. "Thank you my Prince."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

That night, Ignis could not sleep. Finn had covered every inch of her bed with all the blankets he had, leaving none for himself. The two of them lay on the bed, and Finn was shivering by her side. Ignis pulled him into her, and Finn instantly stopped shivering as soon as he felt her heat, wrapping his arm and robot arm around her. Ignis absent-mindedly held his face with her hand an rubbed the side of his face gently with her thumb. She stared off into nothing as she was lost in deep thought.

_What's happening to me?_ She wondered. _That stupid Glob damned goop. Glob it, Glob it, Glob it! If I hadn't been pulled in there to begin with, none of this would be happening!_ _I wish I knew what was happening to my body. I've never been so scared. But I can't be scared! I have to be brave like my dad. I have to be strong like him! I can't let Finn worry over me. I can't let him know how scared I feel._

_But... what if I hurt him? What if I turn into a monster? Will I be able to control myself? If I do hurt him... could I live with myself? No, I couldn't! I can't let anything happen to my prince. I won't let him be hurt! Not even by me..._

_I refuse to become an evil monster!_

Ignis' eyes began to droop as sleep overtook her mind. All of her thoughts slipped away except for one.

_I refuse to become an evil monster..._

She found herself in the middle of nowhere. All of the ice and snow was gone, leaving only the dark clouds above and the dead earth at her feet. She felt hot. Extremely hot. Her skin was glowing a golden yellow and her dress was made of flames. She began to scream, thinking she was being burned alive. However, she quickly realized that she did not feel any pain. She sighed in relief. She then tried to walk around, but she was unable to move her feet. They were now melted to the bottom of a small bowl that she had not been standing in before. Her appearance was similar to that of the candle in her room.

She looked around for something familiar. Anything, really. Then she saw Finn running towards her from a distance. She felt her temperature increase as he got closer, causing a smile to appear on her face and for her body to glow brighter. When Finn was next to her, he reached a hand out for her, and she, in turn, reached for him. He whispered something to her, and Ignis' smile went away. She let her hand fall to her side and ball up into a fist, a ball of fire forming around it. She grew in size as her rage grew, and all she could hear now were those whispers of evil in her head. She could not hear Finn pleading with her to stop. Deep down, however, she knew she had to stop, but she had lost control over her own body. She tried to scream at the voices to stop, but no sound came out. The next few moments went by in slow motion.

Despite her efforts to stop herself, she began to throw balls of fire at Finn. He dodged each one that came at him, still pleading with Ignis, but she could not hear him over the voices. Then, against her will, she mustered up all her power to create a giant fire ball that Finn couldn't possibly dodge. With a warrior's cry, she hurled it towards Finn. As soon as the fire ball had left her fingertips, she suddenly had control over her body again, and she had returned to her normal size, no longer melted to the small bowl. They were now on a snowy cliff on a mountain. She watched with horror as the fire ball crashed into Finn. She screamed his name and tried to run to him, but no sound escaped her mouth, and she found herself running at an incredibly slow pace. She began to cry as she saw Finn roll off the side of the cliff. Then everything suddenly became black except for a small golden bird, hooting from up above.

Ignis woke up in a cold sweat. As she took in her surroundings, she realized that she was still in her room. Finn was sitting next to Ignis, watching her carefully. Ignis pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her knees.

"Ignis?" Finn placed a hand on her shoulder carefully. Ignis jumped at the touch, still shaken by the dream. Finn pulled his hand away quickly. "Sorry…"

Ignis sighed. "It's fine. I just…"

_If I tell him about the dream, he'll get even more worried! Ok, Ignis. Just play it cool._

"I just felt some water fall on me, that's all." Ignis looked at Finn and feigned a small smile.

"Where? Do you want me to take a look at it?" Finn asked, already taking her arm and examining it.

"No no, it's fine, Finn, really. Let's just go back to sleep."

Finn kissed the top of her head. "Ok."

Finn laid back in bed and stretched while Ignis stayed sitting up for a moment. She looked at Finn, still thinking of the dream she had had. It felt so real. She really believed that he had fallen off the cliff. Yet here he was, safe and sound. She was so relieved.

Ignis noticed she was staring and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Ignis smiled. She lowered her head to Finn's and kissed him gently. Poor Finn turned red like a tomato, but he closed his eyes and went with the kiss. Then Ignis pulled away and laid down next to him, wrapping her arms around him and staring into his eyes.

"I love you, Finn," she said. "I love you so much."

Finn smiled and touched the tip of her nose gently as he said, "I 'nose'."

They both laughed at his terrible pun. "Seriously, though," he continued. "I love you too."

Ignis buried her face in his chest as she said, "I'll always love you. No matter what happens, just know I'll always love you."

Finn looked at her curiously, but her face was still buried in his chest. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah. I'm always ok when I'm here with you."

Finn smiled. "Ok. Good night, Princess."

"Good night, my Prince."

Ignis closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but the images of her dream still haunted her. And something bothered her about the dream. What had Finn said to her to make her so angry? As much as she tried, she couldn't remember what it was that he had said. Whatever it was, it made her turn into something she never wanted to turn in to again.

_I won't hurt him. I will protect him with my very life if I have to._

_I refuse to become an evil monster!_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

Part 1

All this lovey dovey stuff between those two is really making me sick.

The crown remained in his spot on the table by the door. From his spot, he unfortunately had a perfect view of Finn and Ignis as they sat on the ice couch covered in blankets. The two of them were cuddling on the couch, kissing and tickling each other and laughing the whole while.

I wish I could choose which thoughts of his I could hear, the crown thought. All he's been thinking of lately is that damn girl! And what will become of me? I saved his life! I cared for him when he had no one! And this girl simply crossed his path and suddenly she's the center of his universe! How cruel is life! I was here first! I loved him first!

… I loved him first…

There's no point in denying it. I do love him. It's not the same way as the way they love each other, but it is still love all the same. He's my master. I know I haven't been having the best behavior with him. After losing Simon, I never did stop mourning him. And when Finn came along, I didn't think our time together would last very long…

I hear his thoughts. He thinks that I'm the only reason he survived. That he wouldn't be here if it weren't for me. Well, I could say the same about him. Had he not stumbled onto that small cave, I would still be perched on Simon's skull, with Gunter—I mean Marceline!—as my only company. The poor girl. She didn't deserve to die that way. She truly loved Simon…

But Finn is my master now. I must protect him from anything that could potentially hurt him. And I sense that the girl will become a threat to him soon. I am decided. I don't care if he hates me. If she becomes a threat to his life, I will not hesitate in taking command and eliminating the problem. I will not lose him like I lost Simon. Finn is not hers. He is mine!

Part 2

Ignis was sitting on Finn's lap as he was sitting on the ice couch. She snuggled up closer to Finn, kissing his cheek as he sat there with a big smile on his face.

"Hee hee!"

"What?" Ignis asked, a smile on her face.

Finn gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Nothing. I'm just really happy right now."

Ignis kissed him. "Me too."

She pressed her forehead to his and closed her eyes. Finn did the same. They both gave a happy sigh and stayed that way for a moment.

Finn asked, "So are you hungry?"

Ignis smiled. "You know it!"

Finn got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. He searched theough the cabinets and pulled out what he could find. "Ok," Finn called out from the kitchen. "We have some apples… some apples… some more apples… and we also have apples."

Ignis frowned. "That's it?" Finn scratched his head. "Yeah… I thought we had more. But it looks like the meats we had went bad."

"So we need to go search for food."

_"I'm_ going to go search for food. _You_ are staying here, where it's safe."

"Finn, you can't go out there by yourself!"

"Ignis, it's freezing cold, and with your rising temperature and your skin's intolerance to the cold, you wouldn't be able to step a foot out of this igloo without being in pain. You're staying here."

Ignis crossed her arms and pouted. "So not fair," she grumbled.

Finn took her face in his hands and gave her a passionate kiss. Ignis wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back. Then Finn pulled away and said, "I'm doing this to protect you."

Ignis sighed. "Fine. But remember, no crown. You promised me you wouldn't put it on again."

_I already broke that promise,_ Finn thought to himself. "Fine," he said. "I'll just use my arm sword if any shizz pops up."

"You should take my rifle with you. You never know. It could come in handy."

Finn looked at her with a surprised look. "You sure? I mean, it's your dad's rifle."

"I'm sure. I want you to keep you safe at all costs."

Finn smiled. "Ok. I'll go get it." Finn went to Ignis' room and grabbed the rifle off of the bedside table and his green backpack off the floor. As he walked back to the living room, he noticed a carving of initials in the wood of the rifle that read _F.K._

"Hey Ignis?"

"Yeah?"

He pointed to the initials and asked, "What's F.K.?"

Ignis smiled to herself. "Those are my dad's initials."

"Really? What was his name?"

"Fredrick Klaus. He was known for having the best scented candles in the town." Ignis became pensive as the memories of her father flooded her mind.

Finn noticed the change in her expression and bent down to kiss her forehead. "I know you miss him. I'm sorry."

Ignis placed her hands on the sides of Finn's face and gave a small smile. "Don't worry about it." She pulled him in for a long kiss. Then she pulled away and said, "Just go find us some food and hurry back, my prince."

Finn smiled. "Ok." He placed the rifle in his backpack, allowing it to stick out a bit, and slung his backpack on.

"Mertens, are you really leaving me here with _her_?" the crown asked.

Finn ignored the crown and said to Ignis, "I'll be back as soon as I can, Princess." And he was out the door.

Ignis slouched on the couch and stared at her feet, knocking the top of her shoes together. "Jeez, I wish I wasn't stuck in here."

The crown scoffed. "You and me both."

Part 3

Finn wasn't very comfortable leaving Ignis alone with the crown, but he couldn't let her get hurt by any monsters or anything that may come across their path. Not to mention that now her skin can't tolerate water. He sighed as he trudged through the thick layer of snow. _I wish I didn't feel so useless. I wish I could help her somehow._

Finn continued to walk through the snow, trying to remember the path to the cave they had visited last time. The winds were blowing strong, and Finn was buffeted by the storm, but he continued on his way. Some time had passed before he finally reached the cave. The ice over the lake in front of the cave hadn't frozen over completely since his last visit.

"Ok. Now I just gotta get the food. But just in case—" Finn reached into his bag and pulled out his prosthetic sword and placed it in his arm, placing his regular robot arm in his bag. He proceeded towards the cave, watching his back. When he got in the cave, he wasn't prepared for what was there.

The same creatures that had attacked Finn and Ignis days ago were crawling over all of the boxes, leaving behind a gross green residue, leaving the food inedible. Every broken box was covered in green slime, with only a few boxes untouched. Without making a sound, Finn knelt down to one of the nearest boxes and stuffed as much food as he could into his bag. Once it was stuffed, he began to go back, but he slipped and fell backwards. The creatures noticed and began to make their way towards him. He swung his sword at the monsters, slicing three of them in the stomach. Green slime oozed out of their wounds and they fell to the ground, but a line of creatures came up behind them, landing on top of Finn. He tried to strike them, but he couldn't move his arm from underneath them. The creatures tried to bite him, but he smacked them away with his free hand. He turned over and tried to pull himself away, but the creatures were pulling him back, tearing at his clothes as they tried to sink their teeth into his flesh.

Then a loud roar echoed through the cave. The creatures stopped and hurried to the broken boxes to hide, moaning and groaning as they went. Finn got to his feet and wiped away the slime. _What was that?_

Then he heard a bubbling noise behind him. He turned to see what he had feared most.

It was another monster, but it was one Finn had hoped he would never see. The monster had more flesh on it than any other monster he had seen, but some bones were still visible and a single piece of cloth hung onto the monsters chest, covering its chest completely. In the crook of the monster's arm was a smaller body. Where it had skin, it was melted to the monster's arm and body, leaving it stuck in that position. The skin on the smaller body was completely gone, leaving only the view of the skull with its empty sockets. When Finn, looked to see the monster's face, he saw that it was still intact except for some skin missing over the left eye. He saw those familiar eyes that used to have such a look of loving affection. And the familiar head of blonde hair.

He saw his mother, with baby Susan still in her arms.

He couldn't take it. He dropped to his knees.

_No…_

_Not them…_

_Why them?!_

He pounded the ground with his fist as the tears fell down his face. "NO! NO NO NO NO NO! WHY THEM?! THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE! THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO LIVE!"

He didn't notice that his dead mother was reaching for him.

"I can't fight her! I can't! I can't do this!"

Suddenly he was lifted from the ground by his mother. Her hand stopped when he was level with her face. He stared into his mother's eyes, searching and hoping to see a glimpse of her old self. But he saw nothing but a blank expression on her face. He knew that she was gone, that it wasn't his mother anymore. But some illogical part of him kept saying that she was still in there. So he pleaded with her.

"Mom? Mom, it's me! It's Finn! Your son! Don't you remember?"

His mother was silent. Then she threw him to the ground, giving a deep cackle as she did so. Finn was disoriented for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses. He got to his feet and tried to run, but his mother smacked him into the wall of the cave, cutting into his chest with her sharp bony finger. He fell in a crumpled heap to the cold ground as his chest oozed blood, and the snow beneath him absorbed the scarlet liquid. The food in his bag had spilled out around him, some of it being completely squished. Finn didn't move. He could feel himself going out of consciousness. He saw his mother moving towards him, her deep cackle piercing his ears.

_I have to fight back. I need to get back to Ignis._

_But… she's my mother. I can't hurt her._

_But… she's not. She's not my mother. My mother… is dead. This… this is a monster._

_Ignis wouldn't give up…_

_She would fight back…_

_With her rifle!_

Finn reached into his bag and pulled out Ignis' rifle. He tried to aim, but his vision was blurred due to the loss of blood. His mother was getting closer, and he needed to at least crack the skull before he could reach her brain. He knew he would pass out soon. He had to get a good shot.

His mother reached out for Finn. Her evil cackle echoed through the still air.

Finn closed his eyes.

A shot rang out.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

Part 1

Finn eyelids felt as heavy as his heavy heart. They fluttered open briefly to show a blurred view of his surroundings. The cold and sticky red snow burned on his cheek, but he was too weak to move. He could barely make out the image of his mother, still standing. She was screaming so loudly that Finn's ears nearly bled.

_Mom…_

_The… gun shot…_

_The rifle!_

Unable to get up, Finn looked around him for the rifle, but it was nowhere to be found. That's when he saw a streak of red fly by in his peripheral vision. He couldn't make out the figure, but he watched as it zig zagged across his mother, delivering blow after blow, as his mother's screams grew more shrill. He fought against his eyelids, which insisted he fall back into his slumber. He ultimately lost that battle in the end, and he fell back into unconsciousness, but not before seeing the red figure strike his mother's head, causing a mess of brains and blood to splatter everywhere.

Finally, the screaming had stopped.

Part 2

Finn found himself surrounded by darkness. He started to run, not even sure where he was going or if he was even moving. Finally, out of nowhere, he saw a figure standing in the middle of the darkness. Finn ran towards it as fast as he could. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt as if he had to hurry or the figure would disappear. He stood behind the figure, afraid to speak out for fear that he would scare the figure away. He tentatively tapped the figure's shoulder. The figure turned around, her short blonde hair framing her face beautifully. The baby she held in her arms, which had been silent all this time, suddenly began to cry. The baby's sudden cry surprised Finn, causing him to involuntarily take a step back.

His mother rocked baby Susan in her arms, trying to calm her down. She turned her angry gaze on Finn, who was already frightened. "How could you do such a thing to us? How could you?"

Finn's lip trembled as he replied, "I'm sorry, Mom! I didn't mean for it to… I'm sorry."

"You killed us! I hope you know that! You killed us! We are DEAD because of you!"

Tears streamed down his face. He was sobbing. "I'm sorry, Mom! I tried to save you! I really did!"

"Trying isn't good enough, now, is it?" His mother began to increase in size as pieces of flesh fell from her bones. "How could you do this to us? I thought I raised you better than that!"

"Mom I'm sorry!" Finn wiped the tears from his eyes, but he continued to cry what seemed to be like a stream of tears. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you! You don't know how it's haunted me! I hate myself every day for it!"

His mother was now 30 times her original size. She let go of Susan, who was now just a skeleton. She fell to the ground, turning into ashes that blew away as soon as she touched the ground. His mother grabbed Finn and lifted him up high so that their eyes were level. Finn suddenly realized that the tears he had cried formed a giant, never ending pool of green goop, and it was still rising. Finn struggled out of his mother's grasp, but he felt himself moving slower the more he struggled. He stared into her eyes as the goop reached his neck.

"Let me go! Mom! Please!" He took in one last breath before the goop enveloped him and his mother completely. As he stared into his mother's eyes, he saw a glint of the woman who had once cared for him.

_Mom…_

Suddenly her forehead began to form cracks, and then it opened, letting the blood inside ooze out as she fell deeper into the bottomless green goop. She released her grip on Finn, and he hurried to the invisible surface. After swimming as slowly as he possibly could, he reached the surface, which turned out to be in front of the cave he had visited. Standing a few steps away was Ignis. Her back was turned, and her long red curls flowed down her back more beautifully than usual. Finn called out to her, but his voice came out hoarse and almost inaudible. He continued to call out, seemingly to no avail.

Finally, she turned around, looking more beautiful than ever. She opened her mouth to speak, and her voice had an echo effect to it.

"Finn!"

Part 3

"Finn. Wake up."

Finn's eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. He was in his room, laying on the bed and covered in blankets. Ignis leaned over him, watching his face carefully. She was wearing her coat, whose collar was pulled up to cover her mouth and nose. Her beautiful curls were pulled into a long braid that fell over her shoulder.

"It's nice that I get to wake up this way," Finn said weakly. "You look beautiful."

Ignis blushed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Finn sat up, but cringed slightly when he felt a pain in his chest. He fell back onto the bed and stared at his bare chest. A deep gash ran across his chest from his right shoulder to the spot just underneath the left side of his ribcage. He could see that the wound was no longer bleeding, thanks to the stitiches. He also saw that his body was very badly bruised, with splotches of purple and blue appearing in random places.

"What happened?" Finn asked.

Ignis frowned. "You don't remember?"

"I mean, I remember some things. I was going to get food for us, at the cave, and those gross slime creatures were everywhere, and then—"

The vision of his mother's decayed face popped into his mind, and he could practically hear her shrill screams all over again. He pressed his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes tight, fighting back the oncoming tears.

Ignis gently touched his cheek as she leaned in closer. "Finn?"

He could no longer control it. He let his arm fall back on the bed, his hand made into a fist, as he began to sob. "There was a monster there… and it was my mom! My mom and baby Susan! I couldn't fight them! I knew I should have, but I didn't want to!" His breathing became sharp and his chest ached in pain with every sob.

Ignis sat next to him and gently lifted him up so he could sit upright. Then she hugged him, careful not to put any pressure in his wound. "That was… your mom?"

"Yes!" he sobbed. "I couldn't fight her! Not her! They were supposed to survive! Instead they're the ones who are dead while I'm still alive! How is that fair?!"

"I'm sure she would have been very happy that you survived, Finn."

A thought crossed Finn's mind, causing him to tense up in Ignis' arms. "She's still out there. She can still come after me! Ignis, I can't ever see her again! I can't even fight her! What are we going to do?"

Ignis kissed him on the forehead. "Calm down, Finn. She won't ever come back to hurt you. I promise."

"Y-you don't k-know that!" Finn sobbed. "She might be on her way now! We need to be ready! We need to get your rifle and the crown and—"

"Finn!" Ignis stared directly into Finn's eyes. Finn became silent at the sight of her intense gaze. "Trust me, Finn. I know."

"…How?"

Ignis sighed. "Because… I killed her. While you were unconscious, I grabbed my rifle and fought her until… well, you know."

Finn leaned away from Ignis slightly, wiping away his tears. "Wait a minute. How could you have done that? You were here the whole time."

Ignis played with her hands in her lap. She looked to the side as she answered. "Well… I kind of followed you after you left."

"What?"

"I didn't want to stay cooped up in here like a helpless child. My body may be acting weird, but I can still help. So I followed your footsteps—or what was left of them, anyways—to the cave. Before I got there, I heard a gun shot. I ran up to see you unconscious in a pool of your own blood. I screamed out your name, and that's when she saw me. She tried to squish me, but I jumped out of the way before she got me. Then I saw the rifle in your hands, so I ran to you and took it out of your hands. She snatched me up just as I grabbed your rifle. I was trying to aim for her head, but then she started shaking me, so I didn't get her. Then she dropped me and she started screaming like crazy. I saw that I had shot her baby instead. It wasn't even moving before I shot it, but she still wouldn't stop screaming. I took that opportunity to strike. So I went as fast as I could, shooting her at close range in ever spot I could. And, well… just know that she won't be coming back."

Finn was silent. He stared off into space, thinking about his mother.

"I'm so sorry, Finn. I didn't know."

Finn waved his hand dismissively. "No, no… it's fine…"

Ignis placed her hand on his cheek. "I'm still sorry."

Finn brought his hand up to hold Ignis', but she flinched when he touched her hand. He looked to see that there were burn marks all over her hand.

"Ignis, what happened?!"

Ignis kept her eyes down as she answered. "The wind was really strong. And it was snowing." She smiled. "But I'm fine."

Finn stared at her burns when a thought crossed his mind. He said, "Take off your coat."

"What?"

"Ignis, take off your coat."

Ignis sighed. She slipped off her coat and placed it on the bedside table. Her arms, neck, and legs were covered in burns left by the falling snow. Finn gasped at the sight of it.

"Ignis! This is why I wanted you to stay here! I didn't want you to get hurt!"

"But I couldn't let you go out by yourself! I love you Finn, and I'm not just going to stand on the sidelines while you go out on your own for my sake!" She took Finn's hand and held it to the side of her face. "I love you, Finn. So there's no way in hell I'm going to stay on the side while you get hurt."

Finn smiled. _How lucky am I to be with this radical dame?_ he asked himself. "Thank you."

Ignis smiled. She laid down next to Finn, careful not to hurt him, and stayed with him through the night.

Although Ignis fell asleep a few moments later, Finn was unable to sleep. The image of his mother was imprinted on his brain. No matter how much he tried, it wouldn't go away. And his nightmare haunted him. He could hear his mother still shouting at him. 'You killed us! You killed us! You killed us!' The guilt he had felt for so long never went away. And now it seemed to swell inside him, threatening to rip him apart if the truth didn't get out.

He cried silently throughout the night. _I killed my family_, he thought. _My own family. I killed them. And I killed Ignis' family too. I killed everyone. I killed EVERYONE! I… I can't…_

_I can't take this anymore!_

The demons of his past could hide no longer.

The time is coming to tell the truth.


End file.
